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INFOSEEK CORPORATION
EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
I. PURPOSE OF THE PLAN
This Employee Stock Purchase Plan is intended to promote the
interests of Infoseek Corporation by providing eligible employees with the
opportunity to acquire a proprietary interest in the Corporation through
participation in a payroll-deduction based employee stock purchase plan designed
to qualify under Section 423 of the Code.
Capitalized terms herein shall have the meanings assigned to
such terms in the attached Appendix.
II. ADMINISTRATION OF THE PLAN
The Plan Administrator shall have full authority to interpret
and construe any provision of the Plan and to adopt such rules and regulations
for administering the Plan as it may deem necessary in order to comply with the
requirements of Code Section 423. Decisions of the Plan Administrator shall be
final and binding on all parties having an interest in the Plan.
III. STOCK SUBJECT TO PLAN
A. The stock purchasable under the Plan shall be shares of
authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock, including shares of Common
Stock purchased on the open market. The maximum number of shares of Common Stock
which may be issued over the term of the Plan shall not exceed one hundred
eighty-seven thousand five hundred (187,500) shares.
B. Should any change be made to the Common Stock by reason of
any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, combination of shares,
exchange of shares or other change affecting the outstanding Common Stock as a
class without the Corporation's receipt of consideration, appropriate
adjustments shall be made to (i) the maximum number and class of securities
issuable under the Plan, (ii) the maximum number and class of securities
purchasable per Participant on any one Purchase Date and (iii) the number and
class of securities and the price per share in effect under each outstanding
purchase right in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of benefits
thereunder.
IV. OFFERING PERIODS
A. Shares of Common Stock shall be offered for purchase under
the Plan through a series of successive offering periods until such time as (i)
the maximum number
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of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan shall have been
purchased or (ii) the Plan shall have been sooner terminated.
B. Each offering period shall be of such duration (generally
not to exceed twenty-four (24) months) as determined by the Plan Administrator
prior to the start date. However, the initial offering period shall commence at
the Effective Time and terminate on the last business day in July 1998. The next
offering period shall commence on the first business day in August 1998, and
subsequent offering periods shall commence as designated by the Plan
Administrator.
C. Each offering period shall be comprised of a series of one
or more successive Purchase Intervals. Purchase Intervals shall run from the
first business day in February to the last business day in July of the same year
and from the first business day in August each year to the last business day in
January of the following year. However, the first Purchase Interval in effect
under the initial offering period shall commence at the Effective Time and
terminate on the last business day in January 1997.
V. ELIGIBILITY
A. Each individual who is an Eligible Employee on the start
date of any offering period under the Plan may enter that offering period on
such start date or on any subsequent Quarterly Entry Date within that offering
period, provided he or she remains an Eligible Employee.
B. Each individual who first becomes an Eligible Employee
after the start date of an offering period may enter that offering period on any
subsequent Quarterly Entry Date within that offering period on which he or she
is an Eligible Employee.
C. The date an individual enters an offering period shall be
designated his or her Entry Date for purposes of that offering period.
D. To participate in the Plan for a particular offering
period, the Eligible Employee must complete the enrollment forms prescribed by
the Plan Administrator (including a stock purchase agreement and a payroll
deduction authorization) and file such forms with the Plan Administrator (or its
designate) on or before his or her scheduled Entry Date.
VI. PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS
A. The payroll deduction authorized by the Participant for
purposes of acquiring shares of Common Stock under the Plan may be any multiple
of one percent (1%) of the Base Salary paid to the Participant during each
Purchase Interval within that offering period, up to a maximum of ten percent
(10%). The deduction rate so authorized shall
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continue in effect throughout the offering period, except to the extent such
rate is changed in accordance with the following guidelines:
(i) The Participant may, at any time during an
offering period, reduce his or her rate of payroll deduction to become
effective as soon as possible after filing the appropriate form with
the Plan Administrator. The Participant may not, however, effect more
than one (1) such reduction per Purchase Interval.
(ii) The Participant may, prior to the commencement
of any new Purchase Interval within an offering period, increase the
rate of his or her payroll deduction by filing the appropriate form
with the Plan Administrator. The new rate (which may not exceed the ten
percent (10%) maximum) shall become effective on the start date of the
first Purchase Interval following the filing of such form.
B. Payroll deductions shall begin on the first pay day
following the Participant's Entry Date into the offering period and shall
(unless sooner terminated by the Participant) continue through the pay day
ending with or immediately prior to the last day of that offering period. The
amounts so collected shall be credited to the Participant's book account under
the Plan, but no interest shall be paid on the balance from time to time
outstanding in such account. The amounts collected from the Participant shall
not be held in any segregated account or trust fund and may be commingled with
the general assets of the Corporation and used for general corporate purposes.
C. Payroll deductions shall automatically cease upon the
termination of the Participant's purchase right in accordance with the
provisions of the Plan.
D. The Participant's acquisition of Common Stock under the
Plan on any Purchase Date shall neither limit nor require the Participant's
acquisition of Common Stock on any subsequent Purchase Date, whether within the
same or a different offering period.
VII. PURCHASE RIGHTS
A. GRANT OF PURCHASE RIGHT. A Participant shall be granted a
separate purchase right for each offering period in which he or she
participates. The purchase right shall be granted on the Participant's Entry
Date into the offering period and shall provide the Participant with the right
to purchase shares of Common Stock, in a series of successive installments over
the remainder of such offering period, upon the terms set forth below. The
Participant shall execute a stock purchase agreement embodying such terms and
such other provisions (not inconsistent with the Plan) as the Plan Administrator
may deem advisable.
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Under no circumstances shall purchase rights be granted under
the Plan to any Eligible Employee if such individual would, immediately after
the grant, own (within the meaning of Code Section 424(d)) or hold outstanding
options or other rights to purchase, stock possessing five percent (5%) or more
of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the
Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate.
B. EXERCISE OF THE PURCHASE RIGHT. Each purchase right shall
be automatically exercised in installments on each successive Purchase Date
within the offering period, and shares of Common Stock shall accordingly be
purchased on behalf of each Participant (other than Participants whose payroll
deductions have previously been refunded pursuant to the Termination of Purchase
Right provisions below) on each such Purchase Date. The purchase shall be
effected by applying the Participant's payroll deductions for the Purchase
Interval ending on such Purchase Date to the purchase of shares of Common Stock
at the purchase price in effect for the Participant for that Purchase Date.
C. PURCHASE PRICE. The purchase price per share at which
Common Stock will be purchased on the Participant's behalf on each Purchase Date
within the offering period shall be equal to eighty-five percent (85%) of the
lower of (i) the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on the
Participant's Entry Date into that offering period or (ii) the Fair Market Value
per share of Common Stock on that Purchase Date. However, for each Participant
whose Entry Date is other than the start date of the offering period, the clause
(i) amount shall in no event be less than the Fair Market Value per share of
Common Stock on the start date of that offering period.
D. NUMBER OF PURCHASABLE SHARES. The number of shares of
Common Stock purchasable by a Participant on each Purchase Date during the
offering period shall be the number of shares obtained by dividing the amount
collected from the Participant through payroll deductions during the Purchase
Interval ending with that Purchase Date by the purchase price in effect for the
Participant for that Purchase Date. However, the maximum number of shares of
Common Stock purchasable per Participant on any one Purchase Date shall not
exceed five hundred (500) shares, subject to periodic adjustments in the event
of certain changes in the Corporation's capitalization.
E. EXCESS PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS. Any payroll deductions not
applied to the purchase of shares of Common Stock on any Purchase Date because
they are not sufficient to purchase a whole share of Common Stock shall be held
for the purchase of Common Stock on the next Purchase Date. However, any payroll
deductions not applied to the purchase of Common Stock by reason of the
limitation on the maximum number of shares purchasable by the Participant on the
Purchase Date shall be promptly refunded.
F. TERMINATION OF PURCHASE RIGHT. The following provisions
shall govern the termination of outstanding purchase rights:
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(i) A Participant may, at any time prior to the next
scheduled Purchase Date in the offering period, terminate his or her
outstanding purchase right by filing the appropriate form with the Plan
Administrator (or its designate), and no further payroll deductions
shall be collected from the Participant with respect to the terminated
purchase right. Any payroll deductions collected during the Purchase
Interval in which such termination occurs shall be immediately
refunded.
(ii) The termination of such purchase right shall be
irrevocable, and the Participant may not subsequently rejoin the
offering period for which the terminated purchase right was granted. In
order to resume participation in any subsequent offering period, such
individual must re-enroll in the Plan (by making a timely filing of the
prescribed enrollment forms) on or before his or her scheduled Entry
Date into that offering period.
(iii) Should the Participant cease to remain an
Eligible Employee for any reason (including death, disability or change
in status) while his or her purchase right remains outstanding, then
that purchase right shall immediately terminate, and all of the
Participant's payroll deductions for the Purchase Interval in which the
purchase right so terminates shall be immediately refunded. However,
should the Participant cease to remain in active service by reason of
an approved unpaid leave of absence, then the Participant shall have
the right, exercisable up until the last business day of the Purchase
Interval in which such leave commences, to (a) withdraw all the payroll
deductions collected to date on his or her behalf for that Purchase
Interval or (b) have such funds held for the purchase of shares on his
or her behalf on the next scheduled Purchase Date. In no event,
however, shall any further payroll deductions be collected on the
Participant's behalf during such leave. Upon the Participant's return
to active service, his or her payroll deductions under the Plan shall
automatically resume at the rate in effect at the time the leave began
unless the Participant withdraws from the Plan prior to his or her
return.
G. CORPORATE TRANSACTION. Each outstanding purchase right
shall automatically be exercised, immediately prior to the effective date of any
Corporate Transaction, by applying the payroll deductions of each Participant
for the Purchase Interval in which such Corporate Transaction occurs to the
purchase of whole shares of Common Stock at a purchase price per share equal to
eighty-five percent (85%) of the lower of (i) the Fair Market Value per share of
Common Stock on the Participant's Entry Date into the offering period in which
such Corporate Transaction occurs or (ii) the Fair Market Value per share of
Common Stock immediately prior to the effective date of such Corporate
Transaction. However, the applicable limitation on the number of shares of
Common Stock purchasable per Participant shall continue to apply to any such
purchase, and the clause (i) amount above shall not, for any Participant whose
Entry Date for the offering period is
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other than the start date of that offering period, be less than the Fair Market
Value per share of Common Stock on that start date.
The Corporation shall use its best efforts to provide at least
ten (10)-days prior written notice of the occurrence of any Corporate
Transaction, and Participants shall, following the receipt of such notice, have
the right to terminate their outstanding purchase rights prior to the effective
date of the Corporate Transaction.
H. PRORATION OF PURCHASE RIGHTS. Should the total number of
shares of Common Stock to be purchased pursuant to outstanding purchase rights
on any particular date exceed the number of shares then available for issuance
under the Plan, the Plan Administrator shall make a pro-rata allocation of the
available shares on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis, and the payroll
deductions of each Participant, to the extent in excess of the aggregate
purchase price payable for the Common Stock pro-rated to such individual, shall
be refunded.
I. ASSIGNABILITY. The purchase right shall be exercisable only
by the Participant and shall not be assignable or transferable by the
Participant.
J. STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS. A Participant shall have no stockholder
rights with respect to the shares subject to his or her outstanding purchase
right until the shares are purchased on the Participant's behalf in accordance
with the provisions of the Plan and the Participant has become a holder of
record of the purchased shares.
VIII. ACCRUAL LIMITATIONS
A. No Participant shall be entitled to accrue rights to
acquire Common Stock pursuant to any purchase right outstanding under this Plan
if and to the extent such accrual, when aggregated with (i) rights to purchase
Common Stock accrued under any other purchase right granted under this Plan and
(ii) similar rights accrued under other employee stock purchase plans (within
the meaning of Code Section 423) of the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate,
would otherwise permit such Participant to purchase more than Twenty- Five
Thousand Dollars ($25,000) worth of stock of the Corporation or any Corporate
Affiliate (determined on the basis of the Fair Market Value per share on the
date or dates such rights are granted) for each calendar year such rights are at
any time outstanding.
B. For purposes of applying such accrual limitations to the
purchase rights granted under the Plan, the following provisions shall be in
effect:
(i) The right to acquire Common Stock under each
outstanding purchase right shall accrue in a series of installments on
each successive Purchase Date during the offering period on which such
right remains outstanding.
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(ii) No right to acquire Common Stock under any
outstanding purchase right shall accrue to the extent the Participant
has already accrued in the same calendar year the right to acquire
Common Stock under one (1) or more other purchase rights at a rate
equal to Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) worth of Common Stock
(determined on the basis of the Fair Market Value per share on the date
or dates of grant) for each calendar year such rights were at any time
outstanding.
C. If by reason of such accrual limitations, any purchase
right of a Participant does not accrue for a particular Purchase Interval, then
the payroll deductions which the Participant made during that Purchase Interval
with respect to such purchase right shall be promptly refunded.
D. In the event there is any conflict between the provisions
of this Article and one or more provisions of the Plan or any instrument issued
thereunder, the provisions of this Article shall be controlling.
IX. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERM OF THE PLAN
A. The Plan was adopted by the Board on April 10, 1996 and
shall become effective at the Effective Time, provided no purchase rights
granted under the Plan shall be exercised, and no shares of Common Stock shall
be issued hereunder, until (i) the Plan shall have been approved by the
stockholders of the Corporation and (ii) the Corporation shall have complied
with all applicable requirements of the 1933 Act (including the registration of
the shares of Common Stock issuable under the Plan on a Form S-8 registration
statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission), all applicable
listing requirements of any stock exchange (or the Nasdaq National Market, if
applicable) on which the Common Stock is listed for trading and all other
applicable requirements established by law or regulation. In the event such
stockholder approval is not obtained, or such compliance is not effected, within
twelve (12) months after the date on which the Plan is adopted by the Board, the
Plan shall terminate and have no further force or effect and all sums collected
from Participants during the initial offering period hereunder shall be
refunded.
B. Unless sooner terminated by the Board, the Plan shall
terminate upon the earliest of (i) the last business day in July 2006, (ii) the
date on which all shares available for issuance under the Plan shall have been
sold pursuant to purchase rights exercised under the Plan or (iii) the date on
which all purchase rights are exercised in connection with a Corporate
Transaction. No further purchase rights shall be granted or exercised, and no
further payroll deductions shall be collected, under the Plan following its
termination.
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X. AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN
The Board may alter, amend, suspend or discontinue the Plan at
any time to become effective immediately following the close of any Purchase
Interval. However, the Board may not, without the approval of the Corporation's
stockholders, (i) materially increase the number of shares of Common Stock
issuable under the Plan or the maximum number of shares purchasable per
Participant on any one Purchase Date, except for permissible adjustments in the
event of certain changes in the Corporation's capitalization, (ii) alter the
purchase price formula so as to reduce the purchase price payable for the shares
of Common Stock purchasable under the Plan, or (iii) materially increase the
benefits accruing to Participants under the Plan or materially modify the
requirements for eligibility to participate in the Plan.
XI. GENERAL PROVISIONS
A. Nothing in the Plan shall confer upon the Participant any
right to continue in the employ of the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate
for any period of specific duration or interfere with or otherwise restrict in
any way the rights of the Corporation (or any Corporate Affiliate employing such
person) or of the Participant, which rights are hereby expressly reserved by
each, to terminate such person's employment at any time for any reason, with or
without cause.
B. All costs and expenses incurred in the administration of
the Plan shall be paid by the Corporation.
C. The provisions of the Plan shall be governed by the laws of
the State of California without resort to that State's conflict-of-laws rules.
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SCHEDULE A
CORPORATIONS PARTICIPATING IN
EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
AS OF THE EFFECTIVE TIME
Infoseek Corporation
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APPENDIX
The following definitions shall be in effect under the Plan:
A. BASE SALARY shall mean the regular base salary paid to a
Participant by one or more Participating Companies during such individual's
period of participation in one or more offering periods under the Plan, plus any
pre-tax contributions made by the Participant to any Code Section 401(k) salary
deferral plan or any Code Section 125 cafeteria benefit program now or hereafter
established by the Corporation or any Corporate Affiliate. The following items
of compensation shall NOT be included in Base Salary: (i) all overtime payments,
bonuses, commissions (other than those functioning as base salary equivalents),
profit-sharing distributions and other incentive-type payments and (ii) any and
all contributions (other than Code Section 401(k) or Code Section 125
contributions) made on the Participant's behalf by the Corporation or any
Corporate Affiliate under any employee benefit or welfare plan now or hereafter
established.
B. BOARD shall mean the Corporation's Board of Directors.
C. CODE shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
D. COMMON STOCK shall mean the Corporation's common stock.
E. CORPORATE AFFILIATE shall mean any parent or subsidiary
corporation of the Corporation (as determined in accordance with Code Section
424), whether now existing or subsequently established.
F. CORPORATE TRANSACTION shall mean either of the following
stockholder- approved transactions to which the Corporation is a party:
(i) a merger or consolidation in which securities
possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting
power of the Corporation's outstanding securities are transferred to a
person or persons different from the persons holding those securities
immediately prior to such transaction, or
(ii) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all
or substantially all of the assets of the Corporation in complete
liquidation or dissolution of the Corporation.
G. CORPORATION shall mean Infoseek Corporation, a California
corporation, and any corporate successor to all or substantially all of the
assets or voting stock of Infoseek Corporation which shall by appropriate action
adopt the Plan.
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H. EFFECTIVE TIME shall mean the time at which the
Underwriting Agreement is executed and finally priced. Any Corporate Affiliate
which becomes a Participating Corporation after such Effective Time shall
designate a subsequent Effective Time with respect to its employee-Participants.
I. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE shall mean any person who is employed by
a Participating Corporation on a basis under which he or she is regularly
expected to render more than twenty (20) hours of service per week for more than
five (5) months per calendar year for earnings considered wages under Code
Section 3401(a).
J. ENTRY DATE shall mean the date an Eligible Employee first
commences participation in the offering period in effect under the Plan. The
earliest Entry Date under the Plan shall be the Effective Time.
K. FAIR MARKET VALUE per share of Common Stock on any relevant
date shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:
(i) If the Common Stock is at the time traded on the
Nasdaq National Market, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing
selling price per share of Common Stock on the date in question, as
such price is reported by the National Association of Securities
Dealers on the Nasdaq National Market or any successor system. If there
is no closing selling price for the Common Stock on the date in
question, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price
on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.
(ii) If the Common Stock is at the time listed on any
Stock Exchange, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling
price per share of Common Stock on the date in question on the Stock
Exchange determined by the Plan Administrator to be the primary market
for the Common Stock, as such price is officially quoted in the
composite tape of transactions on such exchange. If there is no closing
selling price for the Common Stock on the date in question, then the
Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price on the last
preceding date for which such quotation exists.
(iii) For purposes of the initial offering period
which begins at the Effective Time, the Fair Market Value shall be
deemed to be equal to the price per share at which the Common Stock is
sold in the initial public offering pursuant to the Underwriting
Agreement.
L. 1933 ACT shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
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M. PARTICIPANT shall mean any Eligible Employee of a
Participating Corporation who is actively participating in the Plan.
N. PARTICIPATING CORPORATION shall mean the Corporation and
such Corporate Affiliate or Affiliates as may be authorized from time to time by
the Board to extend the benefits of the Plan to their Eligible Employees. The
Participating Corporations in the Plan as of the Effective Time are listed in
attached Schedule A.
O. PLAN shall mean the Corporation's Employee Stock Purchase
Plan, as set forth in this document.
P. PLAN ADMINISTRATOR shall mean the committee of two (2) or
more Board members appointed by the Board to administer the Plan.
Q. PURCHASE DATE shall mean the last business day of each
Purchase Interval. The initial Purchase Date shall be the last business day of
January 1997.
R. QUARTERLY ENTRY DATE shall mean the date on which an
Eligible Employee may first enter an offering period. The Quarterly Entry Dates
for each offering period shall be the first business day of February, May,
August and November.
S. PURCHASE INTERVAL shall mean each successive period within
the offering period at the end of which there shall be purchased shares of
Common Stock on behalf of each Participant.
T. STOCK EXCHANGE shall mean either the American Stock
Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange.
U. UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT shall mean the agreement between the
Corporation and the underwriter or underwriters managing the initial public
offering of the Common Stock.
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