EXHIBIT 99.6
SOFTNET SYSTEMS, INC.
STOCK ISSUANCE AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made this ______day of ________________ ______, by
and between SoftNet Systems, Inc., a New York corporation, and
____________________________, a Participant in the Corporation's 1998 Stock
Incentive Plan.
All capitalized terms in this Agreement shall have the meaning
assigned to them in this Agreement or in the attached Appendix.
A. PURCHASE OF SHARES
1. Purchase. Participant hereby purchases shares of Common
Stock (the "Purchased Shares") pursuant to the provisions of the Stock Issuance
Program at the purchase price of $______ per share (the "Purchase Price").
2. Payment. Concurrently with the delivery of this Agreement
to the Corporation, Participant shall pay the Purchase Price for the Purchased
Shares in cash or check payable to the Corporation and shall deliver a
duly-executed blank Assignment Separate from Certificate (in the form attached
hereto as Exhibit I) with respect to the Purchased Shares.
3. Stockholder Rights. Until such time as the Corporation
exercises the Repurchase Right, Participant (or any successor in interest) shall
have all the rights of a stockholder (including voting, dividend and liquidation
rights) with respect to the Purchased Shares, subject, however, to the transfer
restrictions of this Agreement.
4. Escrow. The Corporation shall have the right to hold the
Purchased Shares in escrow until those shares have vested in accordance with the
Vesting Schedule.
5. Compliance with Law. Under no circumstances shall shares of
Common Stock or other assets be issued or delivered to Participant pursuant to
the provisions of this Agreement unless, in the opinion of counsel for the
Corporation or its successors, there shall have been compliance with all
applicable requirements of Federal and state securities laws, all applicable
listing requirements of any stock exchange (or the Nasdaq National Market, if
applicable) on which the Common Stock is at the time listed for trading and all
other requirements of law or of any regulatory bodies having jurisdiction over
such issuance and delivery.
B. TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS
1. Restriction on Transfer. Except for any Permitted Transfer,
Participant shall not transfer, assign, encumber or otherwise dispose of any of
the Purchased Shares which are subject to the Repurchase Right.
2. Restrictive Legend. The stock certificate for the Purchased
Shares shall be endorsed with the following restrictive legend:
"The shares represented by this certificate are
unvested and subject to certain repurchase rights granted to
the Corporation and accordingly may not be sold, assigned,
transferred, encumbered, or in any manner disposed of except
in conformity with the terms of a written agreement dated
____________, ______ between the Corporation and the
registered holder of the shares (or the predecessor in
interest to the shares). A copy of such agreement is
maintained at the Corporation's principal corporate offices."
3. Transferee Obligations. Each person (other than the
Corporation) to whom the Purchased Shares are transferred by means of a
Permitted Transfer must, as a condition precedent to the validity of such
transfer, acknowledge in writing to the Corporation that such person is bound by
the provisions of this Agreement and that the transferred shares are subject to
the Repurchase Right to the same extent such shares would be so subject if
retained by Participant.
C. REPURCHASE RIGHT
1. Grant. The Corporation is hereby granted the right (the
"Repurchase Right"), exercisable at any time during the ninety (90)-day period
following the date Participant ceases for any reason to remain in Service, to
repurchase at the Purchase Price all or any portion of the Purchased Shares in
which Participant is not, at the time of his or her cessation of Service, vested
in accordance with the Vesting Schedule set forth in Paragraph C.3 of this
Agreement or the special vesting acceleration provisions of Paragraph C.5 of
this Agreement (such shares to be hereinafter referred to as the "Unvested
Shares").
2. Exercise of the Repurchase Right. The Repurchase Right
shall be exercisable by written notice delivered to each Owner of the Unvested
Shares prior to the expiration of the ninety (90)-day exercise period. The
notice shall indicate the number of Unvested Shares to be repurchased and the
date on which the repurchase is to be effected, such date to be not more than
thirty (30) days after the date of such notice. The certificates representing
the Unvested Shares to be repurchased shall be delivered to the Corporation on
or before the close of business on the date specified for the repurchase.
Concurrently with the receipt of such stock certificates, the Corporation shall
pay to Owner, in cash or cash equivalent (including the cancellation of any
purchase-money indebtedness), an amount equal to the Purchase Price previously
paid for the Unvested Shares to be repurchased from Owner.
3. Termination of the Repurchase Right. The Repurchase Right
shall terminate with respect to any Unvested Shares for which it is not timely
exercised under Paragraph C.2. In addition, the Repurchase Right shall terminate
and cease to be exercisable with respect to any and all Purchased Shares in
which Participant vests in accordance with the following Vesting Schedule:
(i) Upon Participant's completion of one (1)
year of Service measured from ______________, _______, Participant
shall acquire a vested interest in, and the Repurchase Right shall
lapse with respect to, twenty-five percent (25%) of the Purchased
Shares.
(ii) Participant shall acquire a vested interest
in, and the Repurchase Right shall lapse with respect to, the remaining
Purchased Shares in a series of thirty six (36) successive equal
monthly installments upon Participant's completion of each additional
month of Service over the thirty-six (36)-month period measured from
the initial vesting date under subparagraph (i) above.
4. Recapitalization. Any new, substituted or additional
securities or other property (including cash paid other than as a regular cash
dividend) which is by reason of any Recapitalization distributed with respect to
the Purchased Shares shall be immediately subject to the Repurchase Right and
any escrow requirements hereunder, but only to the extent the Purchased Shares
are at the time covered by such right or escrow requirements. Appropriate
adjustments to reflect such distribution shall be made to the number and/or
class of securities subject to this Agreement and to the price per share to be
paid upon the exercise of the Repurchase Right in order to reflect the effect of
any such Recapitalization upon the Corporation's capital structure; provided,
however, that the aggregate purchase price shall remain the same.
5. Corporate Transaction.
(a) Immediately prior to the consummation of any Corporate
Transaction, the Repurchase Right shall automatically lapse in its entirety and
the Purchased Shares shall vest in full, except to the extent the Repurchase
Right is to be assigned to the successor corporation (or parent thereof) in
connection with the Corporate Transaction.
(b) To the extent the Repurchase Right remains in effect
following a Corporate Transaction, such right shall apply to the new capital
stock or other property (including any cash payments) received in exchange for
the Purchased Shares in consummation of the Corporate Transaction, but only to
the extent the Purchased Shares are at the time covered by such right.
Appropriate adjustments shall be made to the price per share payable upon
exercise of the Repurchase Right to reflect the effect of the Corporate
Transaction upon the Corporation's capital structure; provided, however, that
the aggregate purchase price shall remain the same. The new securities or other
property (including cash payments) issued or distributed with respect to the
Purchased Shares in consummation of the Corporate Transaction shall immediately
be deposited in escrow with the Corporation (or the successor entity) and shall
not be released from escrow until Participant vests in such securities or other
property in accordance with the same Vesting Schedule in effect for the
Purchased Shares.
D. SPECIAL TAX ELECTION
1. Section 83(b) Election . Under Code Section 83, the excess
of the fair market value of the Purchased Shares on the date any forfeiture
restrictions applicable to such shares lapse over the Purchase Price paid for
such shares will be reportable as ordinary income on the lapse date. For this
purpose, the term "forfeiture restrictions" includes the right of the
Corporation to repurchase the Purchased Shares pursuant to the Repurchase Right.
Participant may elect under Code Section 83(b) to be taxed at the time the
Purchased Shares are acquired, rather than when and as such Purchased Shares
cease to be subject to such forfeiture restrictions. Such election must be filed
with the Internal Revenue Service within thirty (30) days after the date of this
Agreement. Even if the fair market value of the Purchased Shares on the date of
this Agreement equals the Purchase Price paid (and thus no tax is payable), the
election must be made to avoid adverse tax consequences in the future. THE FORM
FOR MAKING THIS ELECTION IS ATTACHED AS EXHIBIT II HERETO. PARTICIPANT
UNDERSTANDS THAT FAILURE TO MAKE THIS FILING WITHIN THE APPLICABLE THIRTY
(30)-DAY PERIOD WILL RESULT IN THE RECOGNITION OF ORDINARY INCOME AS THE
FORFEITURE RESTRICTIONS LAPSE.
2. FILING RESPONSIBILITY. PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT IS
PARTICIPANT'S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY, AND NOT THE CORPORATION'S, TO FILE A TIMELY
ELECTION UNDER CODE SECTION 83(b), EVEN IF PARTICIPANT REQUESTS THE CORPORATION
OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES TO MAKE THIS FILING ON HIS OR HER BEHALF.
E. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Assignment. The Corporation may assign the Repurchase Right
to any person or entity selected by the Board, including (without limitation)
one or more stockholders of the Corporation.
2. At Will Employment. Nothing in this Agreement or in the
Plan shall confer upon Participant any right to continue in Service for any
period of specific duration or interfere with or otherwise restrict in any way
the rights of the Corporation (or any Parent or Subsidiary employing or
retaining Participant) or of Participant, which rights are hereby expressly
reserved by each, to terminate Participant's Service at any time for any reason,
with or without cause.
3. Notices. Any notice required to be given under this
Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effective upon personal
delivery or upon deposit in the U.S. mail, registered or certified, postage
prepaid and properly addressed to the party entitled to such notice at the
address indicated below such party's signature line on this Agreement or at such
other address as such party may designate by ten (10) days advance written
notice under this paragraph to all other parties to this Agreement.
4. No Waiver. The failure of the Corporation in any instance
to exercise the Repurchase Right shall not constitute a waiver of any other
repurchase rights that may subsequently arise under the provisions of this
Agreement or any other agreement between the Corporation and Participant. No
waiver of any breach or condition of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a
waiver of any other or subsequent breach or condition, whether of like or
different nature.
5. Cancellation of Shares. If the Corporation shall make
available, at the time and place and in the amount and form provided in this
Agreement, the consideration for the Purchased Shares to be repurchased in
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, then from and after such time,
the person from whom such shares are to be repurchased shall no longer have any
rights as a holder of such shares (other than the right to receive payment of
such consideration in accordance with this Agreement). Such shares shall be
deemed purchased in accordance with the applicable provisions hereof, and the
Corporation shall be deemed the owner and holder of such shares, whether or not
the certificates therefor have been delivered as required by this Agreement.
6. Participant Undertaking. Participant hereby agrees to take
whatever additional action and execute whatever additional documents the
Corporation may deem necessary or advisable in order to carry out or effect one
or more of the obligations or restrictions imposed on either Participant or the
Purchased Shares pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.
7. Agreement is Entire Contract. This Agreement constitutes
the entire contract between the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter
hereof. This Agreement is made pursuant to the provisions of the Plan and shall
in all respects be construed in conformity with the terms of the Plan.
8. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and
construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California without resort
to that State's conflict-of-laws rules.
9. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which
together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
10. Successors and Assigns. The provisions of this Agreement
shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the Corporation and its
successors and assigns and upon Participant, Participant's assigns and the legal
representatives, heirs and legatees of Participant's estate, whether or not any
such person shall have become a party to this Agreement and have agreed in
writing to join herein and be bound by the terms hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement
on the day and year first indicated above.
SOFTNET SYSTEMS, INC.
By: ______________________________________
Title:_____________________________________
Address: __________________________________
___________________________________________
PARTICIPANT
Signature:________________________________
Address:__________________________________
__________________________________________
SPOUSAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The undersigned spouse of the Participant has read and hereby
approves the foregoing Stock Issuance Agreement. In consideration of the
Corporation's granting the Participant the right to acquire the Purchased Shares
in accordance with the terms of such Agreement, the undersigned hereby agrees to
be irrevocably bound by all the terms of such Agreement, including (without
limitation) the right of the Corporation (or its assigns) to purchase any
Purchased Shares in which the Participant is not vested at the time of his or
her termination of Service.
__________________________________________
PARTICIPANT'S SPOUSE
Address: _________________________________
__________________________________________
EXHIBIT I
ASSIGNMENT SEPARATE FROM CERTIFICATE
FOR VALUE RECEIVED hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s)
unto SoftNet Systems, Inc. (the "Corporation"), _____________ ( ) shares of the
Common Stock of the Corporation standing in his or her name on the books of the
Corporation represented by Certificate No. herewith and do(es) hereby
irrevocably constitute and appoint ______________________________ Attorney to
transfer the said stock on the books of the Corporation with full power of
substitution in the premises.
Dated: _________________, ________.
Signature__________________________________
Instruction: Please do not fill in any blanks other than the signature line.
Please sign exactly as you would like your name to appear on the issued stock
certificate. The purpose of this assignment is to enable the Corporation to
exercise the Repurchase Right without requiring additional signatures on the
part of Participant.
EXHIBIT II
SECTION 83(b) TAX ELECTION
This statement is being made under Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code,
pursuant to Treas. Reg. Section 1.83-2.
(1) The taxpayer who performed the services is:
Name:
Address:
Taxpayer Ident. No.:
(2) The property with respect to which the election is being made is
______________ shares of the common stock of SoftNet Systems, Inc.
(3) The property was issued on _________________, _________.
(4) The taxable year in which the election is being made is the calendar year
_________.
(5) The property is subject to a repurchase right pursuant to which the issuer
has the right to acquire the property at the original purchase price if for
any reason taxpayer's service with the issuer terminates. The issuer's
repurchase right lapses in a series of annual and monthly installments over
a four (4)-year period ending on .
(6) The fair market value at the time of transfer (determined without regard to
any restriction other than a restriction which by its terms will never
lapse) is $ per share.
(7) The amount paid for such property is $__________ per share.
(8) A copy of this statement was furnished to SoftNet Systems, Inc. for whom
taxpayer rendered the services underlying the transfer of property.
(9) This statement is executed on ________________________, _______.
________________________________________________________________________________
Spouse (if any) Taxpayer
This election must be filed with the Internal Revenue Service Center with which
taxpayer files his or her Federal income tax returns and must be made within
thirty (30) days after the execution date of the Stock Issuance Agreement. This
filing should be made by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.
Participant must retain two (2) copies of the completed form for filing with his
or her Federal and state tax returns for the current tax year and an additional
copy for his or her records.
APPENDIX
The following definitions shall be in effect under the
Agreement:
A. Agreement shall mean this Stock Issuance Agreement.
B. Board shall mean the Corporation's Board of Directors.
C. Common Stock shall mean shares of the Corporation's common
stock.
D. Code shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
E. Corporate Transaction shall mean either of the following
stockholder-approved transactions:
(i) a merger or consolidation in which securities
possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total
combined voting power of the Corporation's outstanding
securities are transferred to a person or persons different
from the persons holding those securities immediately prior
to such transaction, or
(ii) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or
substantially all of the Corporation's assets in complete
liquidation or dissolution of the Corporation.
F. Corporation shall mean SoftNet Systems, Inc., a New York
corporation, and any successor corporation to all or substantially all of the
assets or voting stock of SoftNet Systems, Inc.
G. Owner shall mean Participant and all subsequent holders of
the Purchased Shares who derive their chain of ownership through a Permitted
Transfer from Participant.
H. Parent shall mean any corporation (other than the
Corporation) in an unbroken chain of corporations ending with the Corporation,
provided each corporation in the unbroken chain (other than the Corporation)
owns, at the time of the determination, stock possessing fifty percent (50%) or
more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the
other corporations in such chain.
I. Participant shall mean the person to whom the Purchased
Shares are issued under the Stock Issuance Program.
J. Permitted Transfer shall mean (i) a gratuitous transfer of
the Purchased Shares, provided and only if Participant obtains the Corporation's
prior written consent to such transfer, (ii) a transfer of title to the
Purchased Shares effected pursuant to Participant's will or
the laws of intestate succession following Participant's death
or (iii) a transfer to the Corporation in pledge as security for any
purchase-money indebtedness incurred by Participant in connection with the
acquisition of the Purchased Shares.
K. Plan shall mean the Corporation's 1998 Stock Incentive
Plan.
L. Plan Administrator shall mean either the Board or a
committee of the Board acting in its administrative capacity under the Plan.
M. Purchase Price shall have the meaning assigned to such term
in Paragraph A.1.
N. Purchased Shares shall have the meaning assigned to such
term in Paragraph A.1.
O. Recapitalization shall mean any stock split, stock
dividend, recapitalization, combination of shares, exchange of shares or other
change affecting the Corporation's outstanding Common Stock as a class without
the Corporation's receipt of consideration.
P. Repurchase Right shall mean the right granted to the
Corporation in accordance with Article C.
Q. Service shall mean the Participant's performance of
services for the Corporation (or any Parent or Subsidiary) in the capacity of an
employee, subject to the control and direction of the employer entity as to both
the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance, a
non-employee member of the board of directors or a consultant.
R. Stock Issuance Program shall mean the Stock Issuance
Program under the Plan.
S. Subsidiary shall mean any corporation (other than the
Corporation) in an unbroken chain of corporations beginning with the
Corporation, provided each corporation (other than the last corporation) in the
unbroken chain owns, at the time of the determination, stock possessing fifty
percent (50%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock
in one of the other corporations in such chain.
T. Vesting Schedule shall mean the vesting schedule specified
in Paragraph C.3, pursuant to which the Purchased Shares are to vest in a series
of installments over Participant's period of Service.
U. Unvested Shares shall have the meaning assigned to such
term in Paragraph C.1.
