Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc.
Exhibit 10.14
This agreement (“Award Agreement”) is entered into by and between Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal office at 0000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000 (the "Company"), and the undersigned qualified individual ("Participant"), pursuant to the Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. 2023 Incentive Stock Plan, as amended (the "Plan"), as of this 1st day of March 2024 (the “Effective Date”).
W I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, the Compensation and Management Development Committee of the Company's Board of Directors, in its capacity as the Committee under the Plan (the "Committee"), desires to advance the best interests of the Company by recognizing the achievements of Participant and Participant’s continued responsibilities;
WHEREAS, the Committee has expressed an intention to grant to Participant Restricted Stock Units, as defined in the Plan ("Units"), with such Units to vest as provided in this Award Agreement, provided Participant remains continuously employed by the Company from the date hereof through the Vesting Date, and otherwise subject to all terms and conditions of this Award Agreement, the Plan and any Appendix (the “Award”); and
WHEREAS, this Award Agreement is being entered into to convey the Award of Units to Participant.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises made herein, the parties agree as follows:
1. Definitions
All capitalized terms not expressly defined in this Award Agreement and used herein shall have the same meaning set forth in the Plan, a copy of which has been provided to Participant.
2. Award of Units; Vesting
(a) Award. Participant is hereby awarded ___ Restricted Stock Units, subject in all respects to the terms of this Award Agreement and the Plan, as of the Effective Date.
(b) Vesting. Participant shall become vested with respect to, and thereupon have a non-forfeitable right to, the shares of Stock underlying the Units granted pursuant to Section 2(a) on [March 1, 2027], subject to possible Accelerated Vesting under Section 2(d) below, provided that, Participant shall have remained continuously in the employ of the Company (or any Participating Company) from the Effective Date through such vesting date (herein referred to as the "Vesting Date"). The date of payment to Participant (the “Payout Date”) of shares of Stock underlying the Units shall be not later than fifteen (15) days following the Vesting Date.
(c) Termination of Employment. Except as provided in Section 2(d), if Participant's employment with the Company or any Participating Company, as applicable, is terminated for any reason before the Vesting Date, then all of the Units subject to this Award Agreement, and all dividend equivalents and accrued earnings thereon, if any, shall immediately be forfeited to the Company, and Participant shall have no further rights to such Units, the underlying shares of Stock or any dividend equivalents or accrued earnings thereon from and after the date of such termination.
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(d) Accelerated Vesting. Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of the Plan and Section 5(e) of this Agreement, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for accelerated vesting of all or a portion of the Award in the event of Participant’s death, Total Disability or in connection with a Change in Control or in other special circumstances.
Upon Participant’s Retirement, the Award shall immediately vest on a prorated basis, with such proration determined based on the portion of the vesting period (March 1, 2024 – February 28, 2027) during which the Participant was employed by the Company.
Any vesting event that occurs pursuant to this Section 2(d) is referred to herein as “Accelerated Vesting.”
(e) Withholding Taxes. On the Vesting Date, or at any other time when withholding is required under the Code or under the applicable provisions of any Applicable Law, including any federal, provincial, state or local law, relating to the withholding of tax or other required deductions, including on the amount, if any, includable in the income of Participant, the Company shall have the right to require Participant to pay to the Company the amount of taxes that the Company is required to withhold as a condition precedent to the payment of the Award. In the Committee’s discretion, the Company shall have the right to retain, or sell without notice, a sufficient number of shares of Stock underlying the then vesting Units held by Participant to cover the amount required to be withheld, or to withhold such amount from any other amounts due to Participant by the Company, subject to Applicable Law. The Committee may, in its discretion, require or permit Participant to elect, subject to such conditions as the Committee shall impose, (i) to have shares of Stock otherwise issuable pursuant to the Award withheld by the Company or (ii) to deliver to the Company previously acquired shares of Stock (through actual tender or attestation), in either case for the greatest number of whole shares having a Fair Market Value on the date immediately preceding the Vesting Date not in excess of the amount to be used for tax withholding, in the Committee’s discretion, subject to Applicable Law. The Company may deduct from all dividend equivalents paid with respect to vested Units granted hereunder, and from any earnings deemed accrued thereon as hereinafter provided, the amount of taxes, if any, that the Company is required to withhold with respect to such amounts.
3. Restrictions; Stockholder Rights; Dividends
(a) Sale; Exchange, etc. Participant acknowledges and agrees that prior to the Vesting Date the Units are subject to a restriction against sale, exchange, hypothecation, assignment, transfer (including by gift), pledge or other encumbrance (each, a “Transfer”), except as provided in Section 17(f) of the Plan with the prior written consent of the Committee, which consent shall require of the proposed transferee an undertaking to be bound by the terms of this Award Agreement, including forfeiture upon the termination of the employment of Participant before the Vesting Date. Any Transfer of vested Units shall only be undertaken in compliance with Applicable Law, including applicable securities laws and Company policies. Participant acknowledges that Participant will continue to be subject to any applicable provisions of the Plan, including without limitation Sections 15 and 16, notwithstanding the vesting or Transfer of any such Units.
(b) Stockholder Rights. Participant, as the owner of Units granted hereunder, shall not have any rights of a stockholder, including but not limited to, the right to vote or, subject to Section 3(c) below, the right to receive dividends until the issuance of Stock to Participant in respect of such Award.
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(c) Dividend Equivalents.
(i) Dividends Accumulated. In the event a cash dividend is declared and paid with respect to the Stock, a dividend equivalent equal to the per share amount of such dividend shall be credited on all Units underlying the Award and outstanding on the record date for such dividend. Any such dividend equivalents and any accrued earnings thereon, as provided for in Section 3(c)(ii) below, shall be accumulated and credited to an account for Participant and shall be subject to the same terms and conditions, including vesting restrictions, as the underlying Units with respect to which the dividend equivalents are credited. Any dividend equivalents, plus any accrued earnings thereon, that are earned and not forfeited shall be paid in cash on the Payout Date.
(ii) Interest on Withheld Cash Dividends. Participant shall be credited and paid a cash amount equal to the amount of interest that would have accrued on all dividend equivalents accumulated under Section 3(c)(i) and paid in cash in respect of Stock vested on the Vesting Date, had all such dividend equivalents earned interest at a rate equal to prime rate as reported in the Wall Street Journal, adjusted and compounded annually, from the date such cash dividends were paid by the Company on the Stock.
(iii) Unfunded Obligation. Insofar as this Section 3(c) provides for payments to Participant in cash, this obligation shall be unfunded and, in particular, the Company shall not be obligated to segregate amounts in respect of the dividend equivalents earned on the Stock or any amount in respect of interest deemed to accrue hereunder. Although bookkeeping accounts may be established with respect to Participant by virtue of the operations of this Section 3(c), any such accounts are merely a bookkeeping convenience. Any liability of the Company to Participant shall be based solely upon the contractual obligation arising under this Award Agreement.
4. Conformity with Securities Laws
The grant of Units hereunder (and any transfers thereof) is subject to compliance with all applicable securities laws. Participant hereby represents to the Company that Participant is acquiring the Units, and any underlying shares of Stock to which Participant may become entitled upon vesting of such Units, for investment purposes only and not with a view to the distribution thereof. The book entries or certificates, as applicable, representing Stock issued by the Company pursuant to this Award Agreement may reflect or bear a legend describing the restrictions on resale thereof under applicable securities laws, and stop transfer orders with respect to any such shares may be entered in the stock transfer records of the Company.
5. Miscellaneous
(a) Assignments and Transfers. The rights and interests of Participant under this Award Agreement may not be assigned, encumbered or transferred, except as provided for in this Award Agreement and the Plan.
(b) No Right to Employment. Neither this Award Agreement nor any action taken hereunder shall be construed as giving Participant any right to be retained in the employ of any Participating Company.
(c) Headings. The headings contained in this Award Agreement are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of or to affect the meaning or interpretation of this Award Agreement.
(d) Consistency with the Plan. The provisions of the Plan are incorporated herein by reference and shall govern as to all matters not expressly provided for in this Award Agreement. This
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Award Agreement is subject to all the provisions of the Plan. It is expressly agreed and understood that in the case of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Award Agreement and the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control, as determined in the sole judgment of the Committee.
(e) Code Section 409A. Although the Company does not guarantee to Participant any particular tax treatment relating to the Award, it is intended that the Award be exempt from, or compliant with, Code Section 409A and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder, specifically including the short-term deferral exception set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4), and this Award Agreement shall be construed and interpreted in a manner consistent with the requirements for avoiding taxes or penalties under Code Section 409A. The date on which the Participant’s termination of employment occurs shall be determined in accordance with Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h). Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in no event shall the Company be liable for any additional tax, interest or penalties that may be imposed on Participant by virtue of Code Section 409A or any damages for failing to comply with Code Section 409A.
(f) Choice of Law; Venue. This Award and Award Agreement will be interpreted and construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Florida (other than its conflict of law principles). Participant consents to the exclusive venue and jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Florida and waives any objection based on lack of jurisdiction or inconvenient forum.
(g) Clawback. The Award and any shares of Stock delivered pursuant to the Award are subject to forfeiture, recovery by the Company or other similar action pursuant to applicable Plan provisions and any applicable clawback or recoupment policy of the Company, as may be in effect from time to time, or as otherwise required by law.
(h) Amendment; Waiver. This Award Agreement may be amended or modified at any time by an instrument in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement. The failure of the Company to enforce at any time any provision of this Award Agreement shall in no way be construed to be a waiver of such provision or of any other provision hereof.
(i) Electronic Delivery and Acceptance. The Company may, in its sole discretion, elect to deliver any documents related to current or future participation in the Plan by electronic means. Participant hereby consents to receive such documents by electronic delivery and agrees to participate in the Plan through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or a third party designated by the Company.
(j) No Advice Regarding Award. The Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations regarding Participant’s participation in the Plan, or Participant’s acquisition or sale of the underlying shares of Stock. Participant is xxxxxx advised to consult with his or her personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.
(k) Applicable Law; Appendix. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Award Agreement, the Award shall be subject to Applicable Law and any special terms and conditions set forth in any appendix to this Agreement specific to any country outside of the U.S., which appendix shall constitute part of this Award Agreement. Moreover, if Participant relocates to a different country, any special terms and conditions in the applicable appendix for such other country will apply to Participant, to the extent the Company determines that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable in order to comply with Applicable Law or facilitate the administration of the Plan in such country.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Award Agreement to be executed and delivered on the Effective Date first above written.
PARTICIPANT RAYONIER ADVANCED MATERIALS INC.
Sign personalized document Sign personalized document
Name: _________________ Xxx Xxxxx
Employee ID: ____________ Chief Administrative Officer
and SVP, Human Resources
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