EXHIBIT (10.17)
LACROSSE FOOTWEAR, INC.
1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
(1) Establishment. LACROSSE FOOTWEAR, INC. (the "Company")
hereby establishes a stock incentive plan for certain officers and other
key employees, as described herein, which shall be known as the "LACROSSE
FOOTWEAR, INC. 1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN" (the "Plan"). It is
intended that stock options (including both incentive stock options and
nonstatutory stock options) may be granted under the Plan.
(2) Purpose. The purpose of the Plan is to induce certain
officers and other key employees to remain in the employ of the Company or
its subsidiaries and to encourage such employees to secure or increase on
reasonable terms their stock ownership in the Company. The Board of
Directors of the Company (the "Board") believes that the Plan will promote
continuity of management and increased incentive and personal interest in
the welfare of the Company by those who are primarily responsible for
shaping and carrying out the long-range plans of the Company and securing
its continued growth and financial success.
(3) Effective Date of the Plan. The effective date of the Plan
is the date of its adoption by the Board, November 22, 1996, subject to
the approval and ratification of the Plan by the shareholders of the
Company within twelve months of the effective date, and any and all awards
made under the Plan prior to such approval shall be subject to such
approval.
(4) Stock Subject to Plan. Subject to adjustment in accordance
with the provisions of Section 8, common stock, $.01 par value per share,
not to exceed 300,000 shares, may be issued pursuant to the Plan. Such
shares may be authorized and unissued or treasury shares. If any options
expire, are canceled, or terminate for any reason without having been
exercised in full, the shares subject to the unexercised portion thereof
shall again be available for the purposes of the Plan.
(5) Administration. The Plan shall be administered by the
Board and/or the Compensation Committee (the "Committee") of the Board
consisting of not less than two directors, each of whom shall qualify as a
"non-employee director" within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or any
successor rule or regulation, and an "outside director" within the meaning
of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
"Code"), and Treasury Regulation Section 1.162-27 promulgated thereunder.
If at any time the Committee shall not be in existence or not consist of
directors who are qualified as"non-employee directors" and "outside
directors" as defined above, the Board shall administer the Plan. To the
extent permitted by applicable law, the Board may, in its discretion,
delegate to another committee of the Board or to one or more senior
officers of the Company any or all of the authority and responsibility of
the Committee with respect to options to participants other than
participants who are subject to the provisions of Section 16 of the
Exchange Act ("Section 16 Participants"). To the extent that the Board
has delegated to such other committee or one or more officers the
authority and responsibility of the Committee, all references to the
Committee herein shall include such other committee or one or more
officers.
The Committee and the Board each shall have authority to grant
stock options ("Awards") to eligible employees of the Company and its
present and future subsidiaries under the Plan. Subject to the express
provisions of the Plan, the Committee and the Board each shall have
authority to establish such rules and regulations as they deem necessary
or advisable for the proper administration of the Plan, and, in their
discretion, to determine the individuals to whom, and the time or times at
which Awards shall be granted, the type of Awards, the exercise periods,
limitations on exercise, the number of shares to be subject to each Award
and any other terms, limitations, conditions and restrictions on Awards as
the Committee or the Board, in its discretion, deems appropriate;
provided, however, that the maximum number of shares, subject to
adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 8, subject to
Award that any one Participant (as hereinafter defined in Section 6
hereof) can be granted under the Plan during its term is 125,000. In
making such determinations, the Committee and the Board may take into
account the nature of the services rendered by the respective employees,
their present and potential contributions to the success of the Company or
its subsidiaries, and such other factors as the Committee or the Board in
its discretion shall deem relevant. Subject to the express provisions of
the Plan, the Committee and the Board each shall also have authority to
interpret the Plan, to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations
relating to it, to determine the terms and provisions of the respective
Award agreements (which need not be identical), to waive any conditions or
restrictions with respect to any Award and to make all other
determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan.
The Committee and Board determinations on the matters referred to in this
Section 5 shall be conclusive.
(6) Eligibility. Awards may be granted to officers and other
key employees of the Company and of any of its present and future
subsidiaries ("Participants") under the Plan. A director or an officer of
the Company or of a subsidiary who is not also an employee of the Company
or of a subsidiary shall not be eligible to receive an Award.
(7) Grants of Options.
(a) Grant. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the
Committee and the Board each may grant stock options to Participants in
such amounts as they shall determine. The Committee and the Board each
shall have full discretion to determine the terms and conditions
(including vesting) of all options. The Committee or Board shall
determine whether an option is to be an incentive stock option within the
meaning of Section 422 of the Code or a nonstatutory stock option and
shall enter into option agreements with Participants accordingly.
(b) Option Price. The per share option price, as determined by
the Committee or Board, shall be an amount not less than 100% of the fair
market value of the stock on the date such option is granted (110% in the
case of incentive stock options granted pursuant to Section 422(c)(5) of
the Code), as such fair market value is determined by such methods or
procedures as shall be established from time to time by the Committee or
Board ("Fair Market Value").
(c) Option Period. The term of each option shall be as
determined by the Committee or Board, but in no event shall the term of an
incentive stock option exceed a period of ten (10) years from the date of
its grant.
(d) Maximum Per Participant. The aggregate Fair Market Value
of the stock for which an incentive stock option is exercisable by a
Participant for the first time during any calendar year under the Plan and
any other plans of the Company or its subsidiaries shall not exceed
$100,000.
(e) Exercise of Option. The Committee or Board shall prescribe
the manner in which a Participant may exercise an option which is not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Plan. An option may be
exercised, subject to limitations on its exercise and the provisions of
subparagraph (g), from time to time, only by (i) providing written notice
of intent to exercise the option with respect to a specified number of
shares, and (ii) payment in full to the Company of the option price at the
time of exercise. Payment of the option price may be made (i) by delivery
of cash and/or securities of the Company having a then Fair Market Value
equal to the option price, or (ii) by delivery (including by fax) to the
Company or its designated agent of an executed irrevocable option exercise
form together with irrevocable instructions to a broker-dealer to sell or
margin a sufficient portion of the shares and deliver the sale or margin
loan proceeds directly to the Company to pay for the option price.
(f) Transferability of Option. The options are not
transferable otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and
distribution, and may be exercised during the life of the Participant only
by the Participant, except that a Participant may, to the extent allowed
by the Committee or Board and in a manner specified by the Committee or
Board, (a) designate in writing a beneficiary to exercise the option after
the Participant's death, and (b) transfer any option.
(g) Termination of Employment. In the event a Participant
leaves the employ of the Company and/or its subsidiaries whether
voluntarily or by reason of dismissal, disability or retirement, all
rights to exercise an option shall terminate immediately unless otherwise
determined by the Committee or Board or provided in the option agreement
granted to such Participant.
(8) Capital Adjustment Provisions. In the event of any change
in the shares of common stock of the Company by reason of a declaration of
a stock dividend (other than a stock dividend declared in lieu of an
ordinary cash dividend), stock split, reorganization, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, recapitalization, split-up, combination or
exchange of shares, or otherwise, the aggregate number and class of shares
available under this Plan, the number and class of shares subject to each
outstanding Award, and the exercise price for shares subject to each
outstanding option, shall be appropriately adjusted by the Committee or
Board, whose determination shall be conclusive.
(9) Termination and Amendment of Plan. The Plan shall
terminate on November 22, 2006, unless sooner terminated as hereinafter
provided. The Board may at any time terminate the Plan, or amend the Plan
as it shall deem advisable including (without limiting the generality of
the foregoing) any amendments deemed by the Board to be necessary or
advisable to assure the Company's deduction under Section 162(m) of the
Code for all Awards granted under the Plan, to assure conformity of the
Plan and any incentive stock options granted thereunder to the
requirements of Section 422 of the Code and to assure conformity with any
requirements of other state or federal laws or regulations; provided,
however, that shareholder approval of any amendment of the Plan shall also
be obtained if otherwise required by (i) the Code or any rules promulgated
thereunder (in order to allow for incentive stock options to be granted
under the Plan or to enable the Company to comply with the provisions of
Section 162(m) of the Code) or (ii) the listing requirements of any
principal securities exchange or market on which the shares are then
traded (in order to maintain the listing or quotation of the shares
thereon). No termination or amendment of the Plan may, without the
consent of the Participant, adversely affect the rights of such
Participant under any Award previously granted.
(10) Rights of Employees. Nothing in this Plan or in any Awards
shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company and any
of its subsidiaries to terminate any Participant's or employee's
employment at any time, nor confer upon any Participant or employee any
right to continue in the employ of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
(11) Rights as a Shareholder. A Participant shall have no
rights as a shareholder with respect to shares covered by any option until
the date of issuance of the stock certificate to such Participant and only
after such shares are fully paid. No adjustment will be made for
dividends or other rights for which the record date is prior to the date
such stock is issued.
(12) Tax Withholding. The Company may deduct and withhold from
any cash otherwise payable to a Participant such amount as may be required
for the purpose of satisfying the Company's obligation to withhold
Federal, state or local taxes in connection with any Award. Further, in
the event the amount so withheld is insufficient for such purpose, the
Company may require that the Participant pay to the Company upon its
demand or otherwise make arrangements satisfactory to the Company for
payment of such amount as may be requested by the Company in order to
satisfy its obligation to withhold any such taxes.
A Participant may be permitted to satisfy the Company's
withholding tax requirements by electing to have the Company withhold
shares of stock otherwise issuable to the Participant. The election shall
be made in writing and shall be made according to such rules and in such
form as the Committee or Board may determine.
(13) Miscellaneous. The grant of any Award under the Plan may
also be subject to other provisions as the Committee or Board determines
appropriate, including, without limitation, provisions for (a) one or more
means to enable Participants to defer recognition of taxable income
relating to Awards, which means may provide for a return to a Participant
on amounts deferred as determined by the Committee or Board; (b) the
purchase of stock under options in installments; and (c) compliance with
federal or state securities laws and stock exchange or Nasdaq National
Market requirements.
(14) Agreements. Awards granted pursuant to the Plan shall be
evidenced by written agreements in such form as the Committee or Board
shall from time to time adopt.
(15) Governing Law. The Plan and all determinations made and
actions taken pursuant thereto shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the internal laws of the State of Wisconsin.