NAVIGATOR HOLDINGS LTD. 2023 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN RESTRICTED STOCK AGREEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES
Exhibit 4.5
NAVIGATOR HOLDINGS LTD.
2023 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
2023 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
RESTRICTED STOCK AGREEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES
This Agreement is made and entered into as of the Date of Grant set forth in the Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock (“Notice of Grant”) by and between Navigator Holdings Ltd., a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Islands company (the “Company”), and you;
WHEREAS, the Company in order to induce you to enter into and to continue and dedicate service to the Company and to materially contribute to the success of the Company agrees to grant you this restricted stock award;
WHEREAS, the Company adopted the Navigator Holdings Ltd. 2023 Long-Term Incentive Plan as it may be amended from time to time (the “Plan”) under which the Company is authorized to grant restricted stock awards to certain employees and service providers of the Company;
WHEREAS, a copy of the Plan has been furnished to you and shall be deemed a part of this restricted stock award agreement (“Agreement”) as if fully set forth herein and the terms capitalized but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Plan; and
WHEREAS, you desire to accept the restricted stock award made pursuant to this Agreement.
[WHEREAS, by accepting this agreement, you also accept the Agreement on the Application of Section 7P of the Danish Tax Assessment Act (attached hereto as Exhibit B), whereby you acknowledge that the section 7P of the Danish Tax Assessment Act – to the widest possible extent – shall apply in respect of the granted restricted stock award and that to the extent that the value of the restricted stock award exceeds ten per cent (10%) of the salary in the year of grant, then those amounts exceeding 10% of your annual salary shall not be governed by section 7P of the Danish Tax Assessment Act but instead by the ordinary Danish tax rules.]1
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of and mutual covenants set forth herein and for other valuable consideration hereinafter set forth, the parties agree as follows:
1.The Grant. Subject to the conditions set forth below, the Company hereby grants you effective as of the Date of Grant set forth in the Notice of Grant, as a matter of separate inducement but not in lieu of any salary or other compensation for your services for the Company, an award (the “Award”) consisting of the aggregate number of shares of Stock set forth in the Notice of Grant in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Plan generally and with respect to Restricted Stock (the “Restricted Shares”).
2.Escrow of Restricted Shares. The Company shall evidence the Restricted Shares in the manner that it deems appropriate. The Company may issue in your name a certificate or
1 Note to Draft: Language to be included for Danish recipients, only.
certificates representing the Restricted Shares and retain that certificate or those certificates until the restrictions on such Restricted Shares expire as contemplated in Section 5 of this Agreement and described in the Notice of Grant or the Restricted Shares are forfeited as described in Sections 4 and 6 of this Agreement. If the Company certificates the Restricted Shares, you shall execute one or more stock powers in blank for those certificates and deliver those stock powers to the Company. The Company shall hold the Restricted Shares and the related stock powers pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, if applicable, until such time as (a) a certificate or certificates for the Restricted Shares are delivered to you, (b) the Restricted Shares are otherwise transferred to you free of restrictions, or (c) the Restricted Shares are canceled and forfeited pursuant to this Agreement.
3.Ownership of Restricted Shares. From and after the time the Restricted Shares are issued in your name, you will be entitled to all the rights of absolute ownership of the Restricted Shares, including the right to vote those shares and to receive dividends thereon if, as, and when declared by the Board, subject, however, to the terms, conditions and restrictions set forth in this Agreement; provided, however, that each dividend payment will be made no later than the end of the calendar year in which the dividends are paid to the holders of Stock or, if later, the 15th day of the third month following the date the dividends are paid to the holders of Stock. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, any dividends, whether in cash or in kind, which are paid on a Restricted Share shall not be subject to any restrictions or risks of forfeiture which may be associated with the Restricted Share with respect to which such dividend has been paid.
4.Restrictions; Forfeiture. The Restricted Shares are restricted in that they may not be sold, transferred or otherwise alienated or hypothecated until these restrictions are removed or expire as contemplated in Section 5 of this Agreement and as described in the Notice of Grant. The Restricted Shares are also restricted in the sense that they may be forfeited to the Company (the “Forfeiture Restrictions”). [You hereby agree that if the Restricted Shares are forfeited, as provided in Section 6, the Company shall have the right to deliver the Restricted Shares to the Company’s transfer agent for, at the Company’s election, cancellation or transfer to the Company.]
5.Expiration of Restrictions and Risk of Forfeiture. The restrictions on the Restricted Shares granted pursuant to this Agreement will expire and the Restricted Shares will become transferable, except to the extent provided in Section 13 of this Agreement, and nonforfeitable as set forth in the Notice of Grant, provided that you remain in the employ of, or a service provider to, the Company or its Subsidiaries until the applicable dates set forth therein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if your employment with the Company is terminated by reason of your death or Disability, the Forfeiture Restrictions shall lapse as to all of the Restricted Shares then subject to the Forfeiture Restrictions.
6.Leave of Absence. With respect to the Award, the Company may, in its sole discretion, determine that if you are on leave of absence for any reason you will be considered to still be in the employ of, or providing services for, the Company, provided that rights to the Restricted Shares during a leave of absence will be limited to the extent to which those rights
were earned or vested when the leave of absence began. [No period of UK statutory maternity, paternity or adoption leave shall count as a leave of absence for the purposes of this Agreement, and if you are on such leave, you shall be deemed to be continuing to provide services for the Company throughout any such period.]
7.Delivery of Stock. Promptly following the expiration of the restrictions on the Restricted Shares as contemplated in Section 5 of this Agreement, the Company shall cause to be issued and delivered to you or your designee a certificate or other evidence of the number of Restricted Shares as to which restrictions have lapsed, free of any restrictive legend relating to the lapsed restrictions, upon receipt by the Company of any tax withholding as may be requested pursuant to Section 9. The value of such Restricted Shares shall not bear any interest owing to the passage of time.
8.[Payment of Taxes. The Company may require you to pay to the Company (or the Company’s Subsidiary if you are an employee of a Subsidiary of the Company), an amount the Company deems necessary to satisfy its (or its Subsidiary’s) current or future obligation to withhold federal, state or local income or other taxes that you incur as a result of the Award. With respect to any required tax withholding, you may (a) direct the Company to withhold from the shares of Stock to be issued to you under this Agreement the number of shares necessary to satisfy the Company’s obligation to withhold taxes; which determination will be based on the shares’ fair market value at the time such determination is made; (b) deliver to the Company shares of Stock sufficient to satisfy the Company’s tax withholding obligations, based on the shares’ fair market value at the time such determination is made; or (c) deliver cash to the Company sufficient to satisfy its tax withholding obligations. If you desire to elect to use the stock withholding option described in subparagraph (a), you must make the election at the time and in the manner the Company prescribes. The Company, in its discretion, may deny your request to satisfy its tax withholding obligations using a method described under subparagraph (a) or (b). In the event the Company determines that the aggregate fair market value of the shares of Stock withheld as payment of any tax withholding obligation is insufficient to discharge that tax withholding obligation, then you must pay to the Company, in cash, the amount of that deficiency immediately upon the Company’s request.]
9.Compliance with Securities Law. The Company shall have the right, but not the obligation, to cause the Restricted Shares to be registered under the appropriate rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company shall not be required to deliver any Shares hereunder if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such delivery would violate the Securities Act of 1933 or any other applicable federal or state securities laws or regulations.
10.Legends. The Company may at any time place legends referencing any restrictions imposed on the shares pursuant to this Agreement on all certificates representing shares issued with respect to this Award.
11.Right of the Company and Subsidiaries to Terminate Services; Future Awards. Nothing in this Agreement confers upon you the right to continue in the employ of or performing services for the Company or any Subsidiary, or interfere in any way with the rights of the
Company or any Subsidiary to terminate your employment or service relationship at any time. The grant of these Restricted Shares is a voluntary, discretionary award being made on a one-time basis and it does not constitute a commitment to make future awards.
12.Furnish Information. You agree to furnish to the Company all information requested by the Company to enable it to comply with any reporting or other requirements imposed upon the Company by or under any applicable statute or regulation.
13.Remedies. The parties to this Agreement shall be entitled to recover from each other reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the successful enforcement of the terms and provisions of this Agreement whether by an action to enforce specific performance or for damages for its breach or otherwise.
14.No Liability for Good Faith Determinations. The Company and the members of the Board shall not be liable for any act, omission or determination taken or made in good faith with respect to this Agreement or the Restricted Shares granted hereunder.
15.Execution of Receipts and Releases. Any payment of cash or any issuance or transfer of shares of Stock or other property to you, or to your legal representative, heir, legatee or distributee, in accordance with the provisions hereof, shall, to the extent thereof, be in full satisfaction of all claims of such Persons hereunder. The Company may require you or your legal representative, heir, legatee or distributee, as a condition precedent to such payment or issuance, to execute a release and receipt therefor in such form as it shall determine.
16.Clawback. Notwithstanding any provisions in the Agreement to the contrary, any compensation, payments, or benefits provided hereunder (or profits realized from the sale of the Stock delivered hereunder), whether in the form of cash or otherwise, shall be subject to any Company clawback policy in effect from time to time, as such policy may be amended.
17.No Guarantee of Interests. The Board and the Company do not guarantee the Stock of the Company from loss or depreciation.
18.Notice. All notices required or permitted under this Agreement must be in writing and personally delivered or sent by mail and shall be deemed to be delivered on the date on which it is actually received by the person to whom it is properly addressed or if earlier the date it is sent via certified United States mail.
19.Waiver of Notice. Any person entitled to notice hereunder may waive such notice in writing.
20.Information Confidential. As partial consideration for the granting of the Award hereunder, you hereby agree to keep confidential all information and knowledge, except that which has been disclosed in any public filings required by law, that you have relating to the terms and conditions of this Agreement; provided, however, that such information may be disclosed as required by law and may be given in confidence to your spouse and tax and financial advisors. In the event any breach of this promise comes to the attention of the Company, it shall
take into consideration that breach in determining whether to recommend the grant of any future similar award to you, as a factor weighing against the advisability of granting any such future award to you.
21.Successors. This Agreement shall be binding upon you, your legal representatives, heirs, legatees and distributees, and upon the Company, its successors and assigns.
22.Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be illegal or invalid for any reason, the illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof, but such provision shall be fully severable and this Agreement shall be construed and enforced as if the illegal or invalid provision had never been included herein.
23.Company Action. Any action required of the Company shall be by resolution of the Board or by a person or entity authorized to act by resolution of the Board.
24.Headings. The titles and headings of Sections are included for convenience of reference only and are not to be considered in construction of the provisions hereof.
25.Governing Law. All questions arising with respect to the provisions of this Agreement shall be determined by application of the laws of the state of New York, without giving any effect to any conflict of law provisions thereof. The exclusive venue for the resolution of any dispute relating to this Agreement shall be in the state and federal courts located in the state of New York, and the parties hereby expressly consent to the jurisdiction of those courts. The obligation of the Company to sell and deliver Stock hereunder is subject to applicable laws and to the approval of any governmental authority required in connection with the authorization, issuance, sale, or delivery of such Stock.
26.Amendment. This Agreement may be amended the Board or by the Committee at any time (a) if the Board or the Committee determines, in its sole discretion, that amendment is necessary or advisable in light of any addition to or change in any federal or state, tax or securities law or other law or regulation, which change occurs after the Date of Grant and by its terms applies to the Award; or (b) other than in the circumstances described in clause (a) or provided in the Plan, with your consent.
27.Effect of Employment Agreement. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, in the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any employment agreement entered into by and between you and the Company, the terms of the employment agreement shall control.
28.The Plan. This Agreement is subject to all the terms, conditions, limitations and restrictions contained in the Plan.
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