The amendment to the 2015 Plan provides that upon the occurrence of a “Change in Control” (as defined in the 2015 Plan), the Committee (as defined in the 2015 Plan) is authorized to make adjustments to outstanding awards as specified in the agreement governing the terms and conditions of the Change in Control, including, without limitation, (i) continuation or assumption of outstanding awards by the Company or by the surviving company or corporation or its parent, (ii) substitution by the surviving company or corporation or its parents of awards with substantially the same terms (with appropriate adjustments), (iii) accelerated exercisability, vesting and/or payment under outstanding awards immediately prior to or upon the occurrence of the Change in Control or upon a termination of employment following such event, and (iv) (a) upon written notice, provide that any outstanding stock options and stock appreciation rights are exercisable during a reasonable period of time immediately prior to the Change in Control or such other reasonable period as determined by the Committee and at the end of such period, such stock options and stock appreciation rights shall terminate to the extent not so exercised and/or (b) cancelation of all or any portion of outstanding awards for fair value (in the form of cash, shares, other property, or any combination thereof, as determined in the sole discretion of the Committee). The amendment to the 2015 Plan also clarifies that nothing in the 2015 Plan requires that all awards and/or all participants be treated in the same manner in connection with a Change in Control.
The terms of each of the 2012 Plan and the 2015 Plan, are substantially unchanged other than as set forth above.
The foregoing description of the amendments to the Company Plans does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of each of the amendment to the 2012 Plan and the amendment to the 2015 Plan, which are attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and 10.2, respectively, and are incorporated by reference herein.
Transaction Bonus Pool
In connection with the approval of the Merger Agreement, on July 11, 2019, the Company approved two transaction bonus pools, which may be payable to employees who are employed by the Company as of immediately prior to the Effective Time. The first transaction bonus pool of $2,500,000 may be paid to such employees in the Company’s sole discretion, provided (i) that no transaction bonus payment may be made to any individual who is otherwise eligible to receive payments (including the value of any Company equity or equity-based awards and any severance payments or benefits) in connection with the consummation of the Merger that equal or exceed $150,000 in the aggregate and (ii) any transaction bonus (or series of transaction bonuses) granted to such an employee shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 25% of such employee’s annual base salary. The second transaction bonus pool of $2,500,000 may be paid to such employees in the Company’s sole discretion after prior consultation with Parent, whose recommendations the Company will consider in good faith. Any employee who receives a transaction bonus pursuant to the second bonus pool will not be eligible to receive a transaction bonus pursuant to the first transaction bonus pool, absent prior consent from Parent. The transaction bonuses are expected to be paid to such employees at or immediately preceding the Effective Time.
Cautionary Statement
This report contains statements, including statements regarding the proposed acquisition of the Company by Parent that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may include, among other things, statements relating to future sales, earnings, cash flow, results of operations, uses of cash, financings, share repurchases and other measures of financial performance or potential future plans or events, strategies, objectives, expectations, beliefs, prospects, assumptions, projected costs or savings or transactions of Parent, the Company or the combined company following Parent’s proposed acquisition of the Company (the “Proposed Transaction”), the anticipated benefits of the Proposed Transaction, including estimated synergies, the expected timing of completion of the transaction and other statements that are not strictly historical in nature. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,”