Samir Michael Zabaneh Form 4 HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS / Samir Michael Zabaneh ownership change

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Zabaneh Samir Michael

(Last) (First) (Middle)

90 NASSAU STREET

2ND FLOOR

(Street)

PRINCETON NJ 08542

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS INC [ HPY ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
Chief Financial Officer

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
12/22/2015

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	12/22/2015		J(1)		8,736	A	$0	13,517	D
Common Stock	12/22/2015		F		3,306	D	$95.72	10,211	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Restricted Stock Unit(2)	(3)	12/22/2015		J(1)			6,402	(4)	04/07/2024(4)	Common Stock	6,402	$0	12,804	D
Restricted Stock Unit(2)	(3)	12/22/2015		J(1)			827	(5)	12/19/2019(5)	Common Stock	827	$0	1,654	D
Restricted Stock Units(2)	(3)	12/22/2015		J(1)			1,507	(6)	(6)	Common Stock	1,507	$0	4,519	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (the "Issuer") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of December 15, 2015 (the "Merger Agreement") with Global Payments Inc., Data Merger Sub One, Inc. and Data Merger Sub Two, LLC. The reporting person is expected to be a "disqualified individual" for purposes of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), and the Issuer's Board of Directors approved the acceleration of the vesting and settlement of certain equity awards held by the reporting person to December 22, 2015 for purposes of mitigating the effects of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

2. Each vested restricted stock unit was the economic equivalent of one share of the Issuer's common stock. The reporting person settled the vested restricted stock units for shares of the Issuer's common stock.

3. Each restricted stock unit represents a contingent right to receive one share of the Issuer's Common Stock.

4. The restricted stock units vest in four equal annual installments beginning April 7, 2015. Vested shares will be delivered to the reporting person as soon as administratively practicable following the vesting of the restricted stock unit.

5. The restricted stock units vest in four equal annual installments beginning December 19, 2015. Vested shares will be delivered to the reporting person as soon as administratively practicable following the vesting of the restricted stock units.

6. The restricted stock units vest in four equal annual installments beginning December 11, 2016. Vested shares will be delivered to the reporting person as soon as administratively practicable following the vesting of the restricted stock unit.

Remarks:

	/s/ Robert H.B. Baldwin, Jr., Attorney in Fact	12/30/2015
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
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