TransCommunity Financial Corporation Change in Control Agreement
Exhibit 10.10
TransCommunity Financial Corporation
This
Change in Control Agreement (this “Agreement”) dated this 27th day of May, 2008, by and
between Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx (“Employee”) and TransCommunity Financial Corporation (the “Company”),
shall become effective May 27, 2008.
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Company to have the benefit of Employee’s loyalty, service
and counsel; and
WHEREAS, the Employee wishes to remain an employee of the Company; and
WHEREAS, Employee possesses certain valuable knowledge, professional skills and expertise
which will contribute to the continued success of the business of the Company and its affiliates;
WHEREAS, the Company has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 5,
2007, with Community Banker’s Acquisition Corp. (the “Merger Agreement”) pursuant to which the
Company would merge with and into Community Banker’s Acquisition Corp. (the “Merger”);
WHEREAS, Employee and Company are parties to a Change in Control Agreement, dated March
28, 2007; and
WHEREAS, the Company and Employee desire to terminate the March 28, 2007 Change in Control
Agreement and to set forth, in writing, the terms and conditions of their agreements and
understandings in this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises herein contained, and of other good
and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the
parties, intending legally to be bound, agree as follows:
1. | Change in Control Payments |
x. | Xxxxxxxxx Pay |
In the event that (i) a Change in Control, as defined herein, occurs during Employee’s
employment as a full-time employee of the Company or any 100% owned subsidiary of the
Company and (ii) within the period beginning on the date of closing of the Change in
Control and ending one (1) year thereafter, Employee’s employment with the Company is
terminated by the Company without Cause or by Employee for Good Reason, the Company will
owe Employee the severance pay, benefits and vesting of stock awards described in this
subsection and subsections b and c below. If severance pay is owed to Employee, the Company
shall pay Employee, within thirty (30) days after his termination of employment or such
later date as may be required by Section 409A of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), an amount equal to one (1) times the
sum of (i) the Employee’s annual base salary in effect on his termination of employment, or Change
in Control date, whichever is greater, plus (ii) the amount of bonus, if any, paid to Employee
during the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the Change in Control occurs.
b. | Benefit Continuation |
The Company shall continue to provide, on the same basis as executive officers generally, the
health and life insurance benefits (but excluding disability benefits) provided to Employee and
his spouse and eligible dependants immediately prior to his date of termination for a period of
one (1) year following the date of termination (provided, that Employee continues to make all
required employee contributions) and as modified for any changes to such benefits made with
respect to executive officers of the Company. In the event that Employee’s participation in any
such plan or program is barred by the terms thereof, the Company shall pay to Employee an amount
equal to the annual contribution, payments, credits or allocation made by the Company to him, to
his account or on his behalf under such plans and programs from which his continued participation
is barred.
c. | Awards |
To the extent that Employee has been granted options, stock awards or other equity
compensation under the Company’s equity compensation plan, Employee’s interest in such awards
shall be fully exercisable, vested and nonforfeitable as of the Change in Control date, to the
extent not already exercisable or vested as of such date.
d. | Definitions |
“Cause,” for purposes of this Agreement, means fraud, dishonesty, embezzlement, gross
negligence or willful misconduct in respect of Employee’s obligations to the Company and this
Agreement.
“Change in Control,” for purposes of this Agreement, means the occurrence, with respect to
the Company of any of an “Acquisition of Controlling Ownership” (as defined in clause (i) below),
a “Business Combination” (as defined in clause (ii) below), a “Liquidation or Dissolution” (as
defined in clause (iii) below).
(i) “Acquisition of Controlling Ownership” means the acquisition (excluding any registered
offerings of the Company’s stock) by any individual, entity or group (within the meaning of
Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) (a “Person”) of beneficial ownership (within the
meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of more than fifty percent (50%) of
either (x) the then outstanding shares of common stock of the Company (the “Outstanding Common
Stock”) or (y) the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company
entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “Outstanding Voting
Securities”).
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, for purposes of this clause (i), the following acquisitions shall
not constitute a Change in Control:
(A) any acquisition directly from the Company;
(B) any acquisition by the Company;
(C) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or
maintained by the Company or any corporation controlled by the Company; or
(D) any acquisition by any corporation pursuant to a transaction which complies with
paragraphs (A), (B) and (C) of clause (ii) below.
(ii) “Business Combination” means the consummation of a reorganization, merger or
consolidation or sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the
Company (a “Business Combination”) unless all of the following occur:
(A) all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the beneficial
owners respectively, of the Outstanding Common Stock and Outstanding Voting Securities
immediately prior to such Business Combination beneficially own, directly or indirectly,
more than fifty percent (50%) of, respectively, the then outstanding shares of common stock
and the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote
generally in the election of directors, as the case may be, of the corporation resulting
from such Business Combination (including, without limitation, a corporation which as a
result of such transaction owns the Company or all or substantially all of the Company’s
assets either directly or through one or more subsidiaries, in substantially the same
proportions as their ownership, immediately prior to such Business Combination of the
Outstanding Common Stock and Outstanding Voting Securities, as the case may be;
(B) no Person (excluding any corporation resulting from such Business Combination or
any employee benefit plan (or related trust) of the Company or such corporation resulting
from such Business Combination) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, more than thirty
percent (30%) of, respectively, the then outstanding shares of common stock of the
corporation resulting from such Business Combination, or the combined voting power of the
then outstanding voting securities of such corporation except to the extent that such
ownership existed prior to the Business Combination; and
(C) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the corporation
resulting from such Business Combination were members of the Board of the Company
immediately prior to the closing of such Business Combination or were elected by such
majority at the time of the execution of the
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initial agreement, or of the action of the Board, providing for such Business
Combination.
(iii) “Liquidation or Dissolution” means the approval by the shareholders of the
Company of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.
“Company”
after the Merger is effective, shall mean and refer to Community Banker’s
Acquisition Corp.
“Good
Reason” for purposes of this Agreement, means (i) Employee is removed as
Chief Financial Officer of the Company, (ii) Employee’s job responsibilities are
materially changed and restricted, (iii) Employee’s annual salary rate is decreased, or
(iv) Employee’s office is based more than twenty-five (25) miles from the facility where
Employee was located ninety (90) days prior to the announcement of the possible
Change in Control.
2. | Limitation on Change in Control Payments | |
Anything in Section 1 above to the contrary notwithstanding, if, with respect to Employee, the payments that Employee has a right to receive under this Agreement plus any other payments from the Company including but not limited to the acceleration of the exercisability and/or vesting of any awards of Common Stock options to purchase Common Stock, together with any other payments which such Participant has the right to receive from the Company or any other affiliated entity, would constitute an “excess parachute payment” (as defined in Section 280G of the Code), then the payments under this Agreement shall be reduced to (but not below zero) to the largest amount that will result in no portion of such payments being subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code. The determination of any reduction pursuant to this Section must be made by the Company in good faith, before any payments are due and payable to Employee. | ||
3. | Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Omnibus Provision | |
It is intended that any payment or benefit which is provided pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement which is considered to be nonqualified deferred compensation subject to Section 409A of the Code shall be paid and provided in a manner, and at such time and in such form, as complies with the applicable requirements of Section 409A of the Code to avoid the unfavorable tax consequences provided therein for non-compliance. In connection with effecting such compliance with Section 409A of the Code, the following shall apply: |
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company is authorized
to amend this Agreement, to delay the payment of any monies and/or provision of any
benefits in such manner as may be determined by it to be necessary or appropriate to
comply, or to evidence or further evidence required compliance, with Section 409A of the
Code (including any transition or grandfather rules thereunder).
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(ii) Neither the Employee nor the Company shall take any action to accelerate or delay
the payment of any monies and/or provision of any benefits in any manner which would not be
in compliance with Section 409A of the Code (including any transition or grandfather rules
thereunder). Notwithstanding the foregoing:
(A) Payment may be delayed for a reasonable period in the event the payment is
not administratively practical due to events beyond the recipient’s control such as
where the recipient is not competent to receive the payment, there is a dispute as
to amount due or the proper recipient of such payment, additional time is needed to
calculate the amount payable, or the payment would jeopardize the solvency of the
Company.
(B) Payments shall be delayed in the following circumstances: (1) where the
Company reasonably anticipates that the payment will violate the terms of a loan
agreement to which the Company is a party and that the violation would cause
material harm to the Company; or (2) where the Company reasonably anticipates that
the payment will violate Federal securities laws or other applicable laws; provided
that any payment delayed by operation of this clause (B) will be made at the
earliest date at which the Company reasonably anticipates that the payment will not
be limited or cause the violations described.
(iii) If the Employee is a specified employee of a publicly traded corporation as
required by Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code, and any payment or provision of any
benefit hereunder is subject to Section 409A any payment or provision of benefits in
connection with a separation from service payment event (as determined for purposes of
Section 409A of the Code), as opposed to another payment event permitted under Section 409A,
shall not be made until six months after the Employee’s separation from service (the “409A
Deferral Period”). In the event such payments are otherwise due to be made in installments
or periodically during the 409A Deferral Period, the payments which would otherwise have
been made in the 409A Deferral Period shall be accumulated and paid in a lump sum as soon as
the 409A Deferral Period ends, and the balance of the payments shall be made as otherwise
scheduled. In the event benefits are required to be deferred, any such benefit may be
provided during the 409A Deferral Period at the Employee’s expense, with the Employee having
a right to reimbursement from the Company once the 409A Deferral Period ends, and the
balance of the benefits shall be provided as otherwise scheduled.
4. | Legal Fees and Expenses | |
The Company must pay all legal fees and expenses, if any, incurred by Employee in obtaining, enforcing, or defending any right or benefit provided by this Agreement, whether successful or not. Payments under this Section are not severance and are not subject to reduction under any other section of this Agreement. |
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5. | No Obligation to Mitigate Damages; No Effect on Other Contractual Rights | |
Employee shall not be required to mitigate damages or the amount of any payment provided for under this Agreement by seeking other employment or otherwise, nor shall the amount of payment provided for under this Agreement be reduced by any compensation earned by the Employee as the result of employment by another employer after his termination date, or otherwise. The amounts payable to Employee under Section I hereof shall not be treated as damages but as severance compensation to which the Employee is entitled by reason of termination of Employee’s employment in the circumstances contemplated by this Agreement. | ||
6. | Employment Generally | |
Upon the effective date of this Agreement, Employee will be an “at will” employee of the Company and this Agreement shall confer no rights to continuing employment. | ||
7. | Notices | |
All notices, consents, and other communications to, upon, and between the respective parties hereto shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given, delivered, or made when sent or mailed by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, and return receipt requested and addressed to the Company at its principal office in Richmond, Virginia, and to the Employee at his residence as shown upon the employment records of the Company. | ||
8. | Modification | |
No provision of this Agreement, including any provision of this Section, may be modified, deleted or amended in any manner except by an agreement in writing executed by the parties hereto. | ||
9. | Benefit | |
All of the terms of this Agreement shall be binding upon, inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the Company and its successors and assigns and by the Employee and his personal representatives. | ||
10. | Severability | |
In the event that any part of this Agreement shall be held to be unenforceable or invalid, the remaining parts shall nevertheless continue to be valid and enforceable as though the unenforceable or invalid portions were not a part hereof. |
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11. | Construction | |
This Agreement is executed and delivered in the Commonwealth of Virginia, without reference to that jurisdiction’s conflict of law provisions. This Agreement supersedes all other agreements, whether oral or written, between the Employee and the Company, or any of its affiliated or parent companies, with respect to the terms of Employee’s employment by the Company or any of its affiliated or parent companies. All such prior agreements are null and void. | ||
12. | Headings | |
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement. | ||
13. | Counterparts | |
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original. | ||
14. | Effective Date | |
This Agreement shall become effective as provided for in the first paragraph of this Agreement. | ||
15. | Prior Agreement | |
The March 28, 2007 Change in Control Agreement Between Employee and Company is hereby terminated. | ||
16. | Assumption | |
By its signature hereto, Community Banker’s Acquisition Corp. acknowledges that when the Merger is effective, it will succeed to all of the rights and obligations of the Company hereunder. Employee agrees that the Company’s rights hereunder shall be enforceable by Community Banker’s Acquisition Corp. after the Merger is effective. |
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the
day and year first above written.
TransCommunity Financial Corporation
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Employee | |||
/s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxx
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx | |||
Xxxxx X. Xxxxx, President & CEO
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Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx |
Community Banker’s Acquisition Corp. hereby executes this Agreement for the limited
purpose described in Section 16.
COMMUNITY BANKER’S ACQUISITION CORP. | ||||
By: | /s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxx | |||
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