NONSTATUTORY STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT Employee Form
NONSTATUTORY STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Employee Form
AGREEMENT made as of the ___ day of _______________, 200__, between NATCO Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and ______________________________ ("Employee").
To carry out the purposes of the NATCO Group Inc. 2006 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan (the "Plan"), by affording Employee the opportunity to purchase shares of the common stock of the Company, par value $0.01 per share ("Stock"), and in consideration of the mutual agreements and other matters set forth herein and in the Plan, the Company and Employee hereby agree as follows:
1. Grant of Option. The Company hereby irrevocably grants to Employee the right and option ("Option") to purchase all or any part of an aggregate of ______ shares of Stock on the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Plan, which Plan is incorporated herein by reference as a part of this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the Plan, the Plan shall control. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning attributed to such terms under the Plan, unless the context requires otherwise. This Option shall not be treated as an incentive stock option within the meaning of section 422(b) of the Code.
2. Purchase Price. The purchase price of Stock purchased pursuant to the exercise of this Option shall be $_______ per share. For all purposes of this Agreement, the Fair Market Value of Stock shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Plan.
3. Exercise of Option. Subject to the earlier expiration of this Option as herein provided, this Option may be exercised, by written notice to the Company at its principal executive office addressed to the attention of its Corporate Secretary (or such other officer or employee of the Company as the Company may designate from time to time), at any time and from time to time after the date of grant hereof, but, except as otherwise provided below, this Option shall not be exercisable for more than a percentage of the aggregate number of shares offered by this Option determined by the number of full years from the date of grant hereof to the date of such exercise, in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Number of Full Years |
Percentage of Shares That May Be Purchased |
|
Less than 1 year |
0% |
|
1 year |
33-1/3% |
|
2 years |
66-2/3% |
|
3 years or more |
100% |
This Option may be exercised only while Employee remains an employee of the Company and will terminate and cease to be exercisable upon Employee's termination of employment with the Company, except that:
- If Employee's employment with the Company terminates by reason of disability (within the meaning of section 22(e)(3) of the Code) or retirement (within the meaning of the Company's standard corporate policies, the vested portion of this Option may be exercised in full by Employee (or Employee's estate or the person who acquires this Option by will or the laws of descent and distribution or otherwise by reason of the death of Employee) at any time during the period of one year following such termination.
- If Employee dies while in the employ of the Company, Employee's estate, or the person who acquires this Option by will or the laws of descent and distribution or otherwise by reason of the death of Employee, may exercise the vested portion of this Option in full at any time during the period of one year following the date of Employee's death.
- If Employee's employment with the Company terminates for any reason other than as described in (a) or (b) above, unless Employee voluntarily terminates such employment or such employment is terminated for cause, the vested portion of this Option may be exercised by Employee at any time during the period of three months following such termination, or by Employee's estate (or the person who acquires this Option by will or the laws of descent and distribution or otherwise by reason of the death of Employee) during a period of one year following Employee's death if Employee dies during such three month period, but in each case only as to the number of shares Employee was entitled to purchase hereunder as of the date Employee's employment so terminates. The Committee may, in its sole discretion, advise Employee in writing, prior to a voluntary termination of Employee's employment, that such termination will be treated for purposes of this paragraph as an involuntary termination for a reason other than cause. As used in this paragraph, the term "cause" shall mean Employee (i) has been convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or of a felony, (ii) has engaged in gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of the duties of Employee's employment, (iii) has willfully disregarded any written corporate policies established by the Company, or (iv) has materially breached any material provision of any written agreement between Employee and the Company or any of its Affiliates.
This Option shall not be exercisable in any event after the expiration of ten years from the date of grant hereof. The purchase price of shares as to which this Option is exercised shall be paid in full at the time of exercise (a) in cash (including check, bank draft or money order payable to the order of the Company), (b) by delivering or constructively tendering to the Company shares of Stock having a Fair Market Value equal to the purchase price (provided such shares used for this purpose must have been held by Employee for such minimum period of time as may be established from time to time by the Committee), (c) if the Stock is readily tradable on a national securities market, through a "cashless-broker" exercise in accordance with a Company established policy or program for the same, or (d) any combination of the foregoing. No fraction of a share of Stock shall be issued by the Company upon exercise of an Option or accepted by the Company in payment of the exercise price thereof; rather, Employee shall provide a cash payment for such amount as is necessary to effect the issuance and acceptance of only whole shares of Stock. Unless and until a certificate or certificates representing such shares shall have been issued by the Company to Employee, Employee (or the person permitted to exercise this Option in the event of Employee's death) shall not be or have any of the rights or privileges of a shareholder of the Company with respect to shares acquirable upon an exercise of this Option.
4. Withholding of Tax. To the extent that the exercise of this Option or the disposition of shares of Stock acquired by exercise of this Option results in compensation income or wages to Employee for federal, state or local tax purposes, Employee shall deliver to the Company at the time of such exercise or disposition such amount of money or shares of Stock as the Company may require to meet its minimum obligation under applicable tax laws or regulations. No exercise of this option shall be effective until Employee (or the person entitled to exercise this Option, as applicable) has made arrangements approved by the Company to satisfy all applicable minimum tax withholding requirements of the Company.
5. Status of Stock. The Company intends to register for issuance under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act") the shares of Stock acquirable upon exercise of this Option, and to keep such registration effective throughout the period this Option is exercisable. In the absence of such effective registration or an available exemption from registration under the Act, issuance of shares of Stock acquirable upon exercise of this Option will be delayed until registration of such shares is effective or an exemption from registration under the Act is available. The Company intends to use its reasonable efforts to ensure that no such delay will occur. In the event exemption from registration under the Act is available upon an exercise of this Option, Employee (or the person permitted to exercise this Option in the event of Employee's death or incapacity), if requested by the Company to do so, will execute and deliver to the Company in writing an agreement containing such provisions as the Company may require to assure compliance with applicable securities laws.
Employee agrees that the shares of Stock which Employee may acquire by exercising this Option will not be sold or otherwise disposed of in any manner which would constitute a violation of any applicable federal or state securities laws. Employee also agrees that (i) the certificates representing the shares of Stock purchased under this Option may bear such legend or legends as the Committee deems appropriate in order to assure compliance with applicable securities laws, (ii) the Company may refuse to register the transfer of the shares of Stock purchased under this Option on the stock transfer records of the Company if such proposed transfer would in the opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company constitute a violation of any applicable securities law, and (iii) the Company may give related instructions to its transfer agent, if any, to stop registration of the transfer of the shares of Stock purchased under this Option.
[Include only for Section 16 Officers: 6. Stock Retention Requirement. Employee is required to retain at least one-third of the Shares received upon exercise for a period of three years after exercise, unless (a) his employment with the Company, an Affiliate, or a corporation or a parent or subsidiary of such corporation, sooner terminates for any reason or (b) the Governance, Nominating & Compensation Committee of the Company's Board of Directors (or successor committee under the ________ Plan) shall approve on a case-by-case basis for demonstrated need or special circumstance.]
7. Employment Relationship. For purposes of this Agreement, Employee shall be considered to be in the employment of the Company as long as Employee remains an employee of either the Company, an Affiliate, or a corporation or a parent or subsidiary of such corporation assuming or substituting a new option for this Option. Without limiting the scope of the preceding sentence, it is expressly provided that Employee shall be considered to have terminated employment with the Company at the time of the termination of the "Affiliate" status under the Plan of the entity or other organization that employs Employee. Any question as to whether and when there has been a termination of such employment, and the cause of such termination, shall be determined by the Committee and its determination shall be final. Nothing in the adoption of the Plan, nor the award of this Option thereunder pursuant to this Agreement, shall affect in any way the right of Employee or the Company to terminate such employment at any time. Unless otherwise provided in a written employment agreement or by applicable law, Employee's employment by the Company shall be on an at-will basis, and the employment relationship may be terminated at any time by either Employee or the Company for any reason whatsoever, with or without cause or notice.
8. Acknowledgements Regarding Section 409A of the Code. Employee understands that if the purchase price of the Stock under this Option is less than the fair market value of such Stock on the date of grant of this Option, then Employee may incur adverse tax consequences under Section 409A of the Code. Employee acknowledges and agrees that (a) he is not relying upon any determination by the Company, its affiliates, or any of their respective employees, directors, officers, attorneys or agents (collectively, the "Company Parties") of the fair market value of the Stock on the date of grant of this Option, (b) he is not relying upon any written or oral statement or representation of the Company Parties regarding the tax effects associated with Employee's execution of this Agreement and his receipt, holding and exercise of this Option, and (c) in deciding to enter into this Agreement, Employee is relying on his own judgment and the judgment of the professionals of his choice with whom he has consulted. Employee hereby releases, acquits and forever discharges the Company Parties from all actions, causes of actions, suits, debts, obligations, liabilities, claims, damages, losses, costs and expenses of any nature whatsoever, known or unknown, on account of, arising out of, or in any way related to the tax effects associated with Employee's execution of this Agreement and his receipt, holding and exercise of this Option.
9 Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of any successors to the Company and all persons lawfully claiming under Employee.
10. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties with regard to the subject matter hereof, and contains all the covenants, promises, representations, warranties and agreements between the parties with respect to the Option granted hereby. Without limiting the scope of the preceding sentence, all prior understandings and agreements, if any, among the parties hereto relating to the subject matter hereof are hereby null and void and of no further force and effect. Any modification of this Agreement shall be effective only if it is in writing and signed by both Employee and an authorized officer of the Company.
11. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Agreement to be duly executed by its officer thereunto duly authorized, and Employee has executed this Agreement, all as of the day and year first above written.
NATCO GROUP INC.
By:
Name:
Title:
Employee
