VISTA TECHNOLOGIES INC.
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
UNDER 1994 STOCK OPTION PLAN
______________________________________
Date of Grant: March 27, 1997
VISTA TECHNOLOGIES INC., a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), hereby
grants to XXXXXXX X. HOWLING (the "Optionee"), pursuant to the 1994 Stock
Option Plan of the Company (the "Plan"), a copy of which is appended hereto
and made a part hereof as Schedule I, an option to purchase a total of ONE
HUNDRED THOUSAND (100,000) shares of Common Stock of the Company at a price of
FIFTY CENTS ($0.50) per share (subject to adjustment as provided in Section
6(i) of the Plan), on the terms and conditions set forth in the Plan and
hereinafter. This option shall not be exercisable later than on March 27,
2002 (hereinafter referred to as the "Expiration Date"), except that the
Expiration Date may be accelerated in certain events as provided in paragraph
6(f) of the Plan in the event of the death or disability of the Optionee and
as provided in paragraph 6(e) of the Plan in the event of the Optionee's
termination of employment by the Company.
1. VESTING. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement
and the Plan, (a) fifty percent (50%) of the shares subject to this option
shall be exercisable at any time after the date of grant on March 27, 1997,
and (b) fifty percent (50%) of the shares subject to this option shall be
exercisable at any time after September 27, 1997.
2. TERMINATION. This option and all rights hereunder to the extent
such rights shall not have been exercised shall terminate and become null and
void if the Optionee ceases to be an employee of, or part-time consultant to,
the Company or any Subsidiary (whether by resignation, retirement, dismissal,
death or otherwise), except that: (a) in the event of the death or disability
of the Optionee while an employee of, or consultant to, the Company or any
Subsidiary, this option only to the extent exercisable at the date of death or
disability may be exercised within the applicable period of time by any
persons indicated in Section 6(f) of the Plan; (b) in the event of the
termination of employment of the Optionee while an employee of, or consultant
to, the Company or any Subsidiary, this option only to the extent exercisable
at the date of such termination may be exercised prior to the expiration of
ninety (90) from the date of such termination, and shall terminate in all
other respects; provided, however, that in no event may this option be
exercised after the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this
option may in no event be exercised by any one to any extent in the event of a
voluntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the affairs of the Company
or in the event of merger into, consolidation with, or sale or transfer of all
or substantially all of the assets of the Company, except under the
circumstances and pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(h) of the
Plan.
3. CONDITION TO GRANT OF OPTION. This option and all rights
hereunder have been granted by the Company subject to the express condition
that the Optionee shall consent to the termination and cancellation as of
March 27, 1997 of all stock options previously granted by the Company to the
Optionee under the Plan.
4. EXERCISE. This option is exercisable with respect to all, or from
time to time with respect to any portion, of the shares then subject to such
exercise, by delivering written notice of such exercise, in the form
prescribed by the Stock Option Committee, to the principal office of the
Secretary of the Company. Each such notice shall be accompanied by payment in
full of the purchase price of such shares.
5. NON-TRANSFERABLE. This option shall during the lifetime of the
Optionee shall be exercisable only by the Optionee, and neither it nor any
right thereunder shall be transferable except by will or laws of descent and
distribution or by a qualified domestic relations order as defined by the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or be subject to attachment,
execution or other similar process. In the event of any attempt by the
Optionee to alienate, assign, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of the
option or any right thereunder, except as provided for herein, or in the event
of the levy of any attachment, execution or similar process upon the rights or
interest hereby conferred, the Company may terminate the option by notice to
the Optionee and the option shall thereupon become null and void.
6. MISCELLANEOUS.
(a) Neither the granting of this option nor the exercise thereof
shall be construed as conferring upon the Optionee any right to continue as an
employee of, or consultant to, the Company or any Subsidiary, or as
interfering with or restricting in any way the right of the Company or any
Subsidiary to terminate such employment at any time.
(b) Neither the Optionee, nor any person entitled to exercise
its rights in the event of the death of the Optionee, shall have any of the
rights of a stockholder with respect to the shares subject to the option,
except to the extent that certificates for such shares shall have been issued
upon exercise of the option as provided for herein.
(c) The Company is relieved from any liability for the non-
issuance or non-transfer or any delay in the issuance or transfer of any
shares of Common Stock subject to this option which results from the inability
of the Company to obtain, or in any delay in obtaining, from each regulatory
body having jurisdiction all requisite authority to issue or transfer shares
of Common Stock of the Company in satisfaction of this option if counsel for
the Company deems such authority necessary for the lawful issuance or transfer
of any such shares.
(d) No Common Stock acquired by exercise of this option shall be
sold or otherwise disposed of in violation of any federal or state securities
law or regulation.
(e) This option shall be exercised in accordance with such
administrative regulations as the Stock Option Committee may from time to time
adopt. All decisions of the Stock Option Committee upon any question arising
under the Plan or under this instrument shall be conclusive and binding upon
the Optionee and all other persons.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Stock Option Agreement has been executed on
behalf of the Company as of the day and year first written above by the
undersigned officers, thereunto duly authorized.
VISTA TECHNOLOGIES INC.
[CORPORATE SEAL]
By:
ATTEST -------------------------
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
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Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Secretary
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