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AMENDED AND RESTATED CHANGE OF CONTROL SEVERANCE PLAN

Change of Control Agreement

AMENDED AND RESTATED CHANGE OF CONTROL SEVERANCE PLAN | Document Parties: RIGEL PHARMACEUTICALS INC You are currently viewing:
This Change of Control Agreement involves

RIGEL PHARMACEUTICALS INC

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Title: AMENDED AND RESTATED CHANGE OF CONTROL SEVERANCE PLAN
Date: 2/27/2009
Industry: Biotechnology and Drugs     Sector: Healthcare

AMENDED AND RESTATED CHANGE OF CONTROL SEVERANCE PLAN, Parties: rigel pharmaceuticals inc
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EXHIBIT 10.25

 

RIGEL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED CHANGE OF CONTROL SEVERANCE PLAN

 

Section 1.               INTRODUCTION.

 

The Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Change of Control Severance Plan (the “ Plan ”) was originally established effective December 19, 2007.  The purpose of the Plan is to provide for the payment of severance benefits to certain eligible executives of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “ Company ”) who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in Section 2(a) below.  This Plan supersedes any severance plan, policy or practice with respect to Qualifying Terminations (as defined below), whether formal or informal, written or unwritten, previously announced or maintained by the Company.  This Plan document also is the Summary Plan Description for the Plan.  The Company hereby amends and restates the Plan in its entirety effective November 13, 2008 as set forth herein.

 

Section 2.               ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

 

(a)            General Rules.   Subject to the requirements of the Plan, the Company will grant the severance benefits described in Section 3 to Eligible Employees.

 

(1)            Definition of “Eligible Employee.”  For purposes of this Plan, an Eligible Employee is an employee of the Company serving at or above the level of Vice President (including non-officer Vice Presidents) at the time he or she suffers a “Qualifying Termination” (as defined below).  The Plan Administrator shall make the determination of whether an employee is an Eligible Employee, and such determination shall be binding and conclusive on all persons.  Temporary employees and independent contractors are not eligible for severance benefits under the Plan.

 

(2)            Obligations of Eligible Employees.   In order to receive any benefits under the Plan:

 

(i)             the Eligible Employee must remain on the job and satisfactorily provide services to the Company until his or her date of termination;

 

(ii)            the Eligible Employee must execute and return to the Company a general waiver and release in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, Exhibit B or Exhibit C, as applicable, within the time frame set forth therein (the “ Release ”) and such release must become effective in accordance with its terms but not later than the 60th day following the termination of employment (with the Company having the authority, in its discretion, to modify the form of the required release to comply with applicable law and to determine the form of the required release, which may be incorporated into a termination agreement or other agreement with the Eligible Employee) and notwithstanding the payment schedules set forth in Appendix A, no benefits will be paid prior to the effective date of the

 

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Release but rather on the first regular payroll pay day following the effective date of the Release, the Company will pay the Eligible Employee the benefits the Eligible Employee would otherwise have received on or prior to such date but for the delay in payment related to the effectiveness of the Release, with the balance of the benefits being paid as originally scheduled; and

 

(iii)          the Eligible Employee must remain in compliance with his or her continuing obligations to the Company, including obligations under his or her Employee Proprietary Information and Inventions Assignment Agreement (such form, or any similar form, the “ Proprietary Agreement ”).

 

(b)            Exceptions to Benefit Entitlement.   An employee who otherwise is an Eligible Employee will not receive benefits under the Plan (or will receive reduced benefits under the Plan) in the following circumstances, as determined by the Company in its sole discretion:

 

(1)            The employee is covered by any other severance or separation pay plan, policy or practice of the Company or has executed an individually negotiated employment contract or agreement with the Company relating to severance benefits, in either case with respect to severance benefits payable upon an event that constitutes a Qualifying Termination (used herein as defined herein), and such agreement, plan, policy or practice is in effect on his or her termination date.  In such case, the employee’s severance benefit upon a Qualifying Termination, if any, shall be governed by the terms of such agreement, plan, policy or practice and shall be governed by this Plan only to the extent that (i) the employee elects to waive and release all claims and rights the employee has to severance pay or benefits upon a Qualifying Termination under such agreement, plan, policy, or practice or (ii) the reduction pursuant to Section 3(c) below does not entirely eliminate benefits under this Plan.

 

(2)            The employee’s employment terminates other than as a result of a Qualifying Termination (including a termination for Cause prior to the effective date of a previously scheduled Qualifying Termination, a termination as a result of death or disability, or the employee voluntarily terminates employment with the Company other than as a Resignation for Good Reason.  Voluntary terminations include, but are not limited to, resignation, retirement, failure to return from a leave of absence on the scheduled date and/or termination in order to accept employment with another entity (including but not limited to any entity that is wholly or partly owned (directly or indirectly) by the Company or an affiliate of the Company.)).

 

(3)            The employee has not signed an enforceable Proprietary Agreement covering the employee’s period of employment with the Company (and with any predecessor) and does not confirm in writing that he or she is and shall remain subject to the terms of that Proprietary Agreement.

 

(4)            Following notice of a Qualifying Termination, the employee’s behavior rises to level of Cause for termination.

 

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(c)            An involuntary termination without “ Cause ” means an involuntary termination of an employee’s employment by the Company other than as a result of death or disability and other than for one of the following reasons:

 

(1)            an intentional action or intentional failure to act by the employee that was performed in bad faith and to the material detriment of the business of the Company or an Employer;

 

(2)            an employee’s intentional refusal or intentional failure to act in accordance with any lawful and reasonable order of his or her superiors that has not been cured within ten (10) days after written notice from the Company, or that has caused irreparable damage incapable of cure;

 

(3)            an employee’s habitual or gross neglect of the duties of employment that has not been cured within ten (10) days after written notice from the Company, or that has caused irreparable damage incapable of cure;

 

(4)            an employee’s indictment, charge, or conviction of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, or participation in any act of theft or dishonesty, in each case, that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a material detrimental effect on the business of the Company; or

 

(5)            an employee’s violation of any material provision of the Proprietary Agreement or violation of any material provision of any other written Company policy or procedure.

 

(d)            A “ Change of Control ” means the consummation, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

 

(1)            a sale, lease or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, other than a sale, lease or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to an entity, more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are owned by stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such sale, lease or other disposition;

 

(2)            a merger, consolidation or similar transaction involving (directly or indirectly) the Company and, immediately after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, the stockholders of the Company immediately prior thereto do not own, directly or indirectly, either (A) outstanding voting securities representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined outstanding voting power of the surviving entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction or (B) more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined outstanding voting power of the parent of the surviving entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, in each case in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction; or

 

(3)            any “Exchange Act Person” becomes the owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the

 

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combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities other than by virtue of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction.

 

(e)            An “ Exchange Act Person ” means any natural person, entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), except that “Exchange Act Person” shall not include (1) the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, (2) any employee benefit plan of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, (3) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, (4) an entity owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company; or (5) any natural person, entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) that, as of the effective date of this Plan, is the owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities.

 

(f)             A “ Qualifying Termination ” means an involuntary termination without Cause or a Resignation for Good Reason and in either case provided such termination is a separation from service” (as such term is defined in Section 1.409A-1(h) of the Treasury Regulations) and such termination occurs on or within eighteen (18) months following the effective date of the Change of Control.

 

(g)            A “ Resignation for Good Reason ” means the Eligible Employee has resigned from all positions he or she then-holds with the Company (or any successor thereto):

 

(1)            one of the following actions has been taken:

 

(i)             there is a material diminution of Eligible Employee’s authority , including but not limited to decision-making authority , duties, or responsibilities;

 

(ii)            there is a material reduction in the Eligible Employee’s annual base compensation (including the base salary and target bonus opportunity), where material is considered greater than 5%;

 

(iii)          the Eligible Employee is required to relocate his or her primary work location to a facility or location that would increase the Eligible Employee’s one way commute distance by more than twenty (20) miles from the Eligible Employee’s primary work location as of immediately prior to such change;

 

(iv)           A material diminution in the authority, duties, or responsibilities of the supervisor to whom the Eligible Employee is required to report, including a requirement that the Eligible Employee report to a corporate officer or employee instead of reporting directly to the board of directors of a corporation (or similar governing body with respect to an entity other than a corporation);

 

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(v)             A material diminution in the budget over which the Eligible Employee retains authority;

 

(vi)           the Eligible Employee is required, as a condition to continued service, to enter into any agreement with the Company or a successor thereto regarding confidentiality, non-competition, non-solicitation or other similar restrictive covenant that is materially more restrictive than under the Proprietary Agreement;

 

(vii)          the Company materially breaches its obligations under this Plan or any then-effective written employment agreement with the Eligible Employee; or

 

(viii)         any acquirer, successor or assign of the Company fails to assume and perform, in all material respects, the obligations of the Company hereunder; and

 

(2)            the Eligible Employee provides written notice to the Company’s General Counsel within the 60-day period immediately following such action; and

 

(3)            such action is not remedied by the Company within thirty (30) days following the Company’s receipt of such written notice; and

 

(4)            the Eligible Employee’s resignation is effective not later than sixty (60) days after the expiration of such thirty (30) day cure period.

 

Section 3.               AMOUNT OF BENEFIT.

 

(a)            Severance Benefits.   Subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, the severance benefits that shall be provided to Eligible Employees under the Plan are set forth in Appendix A.

 

(b)            Additional Benefits.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may, in its sole discretion, authorize benefits in an amount in addition to those benefits set forth in Section 3(a) to an Eligible Employee.  The provision of any such benefits to an Eligible Employee shall in no way obligate the Company to provide such benefits to any other Eligible Employee or to any other employee, even if similarly situated.  Receipt of benefits under this Plan pursuant to such exceptions may be subject to a covenant of confidentiality and non-disclosure.

 

(c)            Certain Reductions.  The Company shall reduce an Eligible Employee’s severance benefits under this Plan, in whole or in part, by any other severance benefits, pay in lieu of notice, or other similar benefits payable to the Eligible Employee by the Company in connection with the Eligible Employee’s Qualifying Termination, including but not limited to any payments or benefits that are due pursuant to (i) any other severance plan, policy or practice, or any individually negotiated employment contract or agreement with the Company relating to severance benefits, in each case, as is in effect on the Eligible Employee’s termination date, (ii) any applicable legal requirement, including, without limitation, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “ WARN Act ”), or (iii) any Company policy or practice providing for the Eligible Employee to remain on the payroll without being in active service for a limited period of time after being given notice of the termination of the Eligible Employee’s

 

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employment.  The benefits provided under this Plan are intended to satisfy, to the greatest extent possible, any and all statutory obligations that may arise out of an Eligible Employee’s termination of employment, and the Plan Administrator shall so construe and implement the terms of the Plan.  In the Company’s sole discretion, such reductions may be applied on a retroactive basis, with severance benefits previously paid being recharacterized as payments pursuant to the Company’s statutory obligation.

 

(d)            Parachute Payments. If any payment or benefit (including payments and benefits pursuant to this Plan) that an Eligible Employee would receive in connection with a Change of Control from the Company or otherwise (“ Payment ”) would (1) constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “ Code ”), and (2) but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “ Excise Tax ”), then the Company shall cause to be determined, before any amounts of the Payment are paid to the Eligible Employee, which of the following two alternative forms of payment shall be paid to the Eligible Employee: (i) payment in full of the entire amount of the Payment (a “ Full Payment ”), or (ii) payment of only a part of the Payment so that the Eligible Employee receives the largest payment possible without the imposition of the Excise Tax (a “ Reduced Payment ”).  The determination shall be made as follows:

 

(1)            A Full Payment shall be made if the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Full Payment, less the Reduced Payment, by (ii) the Reduced Payment (such quotient, the “ Reduction Percentage ”), is greater than fifteen percent (15%).  If the Full Payment is made, the Company shall pay, and the Eligible Employee shall be entitled to receive, an additional payment (a “ Gross-Up Payment ”) from the Company in an amount equal to (A) the Excise Tax on the Full Payment, (B) any interest or penalties imposed on the Eligible Employee with respect to the Excise Tax on the Full Payment, and (C) an additional amount sufficient to pay the Excise Tax and the federal and state income and employment taxes arising from the payments made by the Company to the Eligible Employee pursuant to (A), (B) and (C).  For purposes of determining the amount of the Gross-Up Payment, the Eligible Employee shall be deemed to have: (x) paid federal income taxes at the highest marginal rate of federal income and employment taxation for the calendar year in which the Gross-Up Payment is to be made, and (y) paid applicable state and local income taxes at the highest rate of taxation for the calendar year in which the Gross-Up Payment is to be made, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be obtained from deduction of such state and local taxes.  Except as otherwise provided herein, the Eligible Employee shall not be entitled to any additional payments or other indemnity arrangements in connection with the Payment or the Gross-Up Payment.

 

(2)            A Reduced Payment shall be made in the event that the Reduction Percentage is less than or equal to fifteen percent (15%).  If a Reduced Payment is made, the Eligible Employee shall have no rights to any additional payments and/or benefits constituting the Payment beyond the amount of the Reduced Payment.  The reduction in the Payment shall occur in the following order: (i) reduction of cash payments; (ii) cancellation of accelerated vesting of equity awards other than stock options; (iii) cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock options; and (iv) reduction of other benefits paid to the Eligible Employee.  In the event that acceleration of compensation from the Eligible Employee’s equity awards is to be reduced, such acceleration of vesting shall be canceled in the reverse order of the date of grant.

 

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(3)            The independent professional firm engaged by the Company for general tax audit purposes as of the day prior to the effective date of the Change of Control shall make all determinations required to be made under this Section 3(d).  If the independent professional firm so engaged by the Company is serving as an advisor, accountant or auditor for the individual, entity or group affecting the Change of Control, the Company shall appoint a nationally recognized professional firm to make the determinations required hereunder.  The Company shall bear all expenses with respect to the determinations by such firm required to be made hereunder.  The firm engaged to make the determinations hereunder shall provide its calculations, together with detailed supporting documentation, to the Company and the Eligible Employee within thirty (30) calendar days after the date on which the Eligible Employee’s right to a Payment is triggered (if requested at that time by the Company or the Eligible Employee) or such other time as requested by the Company or the Eligible Employee.  If the firm determines that no Excise Tax is payable with respect to a Payment, either before or after the application of the Reduced Amount, it shall furnish the Company and the Eligible Employee with an opinion reasonably acceptable to the Eligible Employee that no Excise Tax will be imposed with respect to such Payment.  If the firm determines that an Excise Tax is payable with respect to a Payment and that a Gross-Up Payment is due to the Eligible Employee under Section 3(d)(1), the Company shall pay the Gross-Up Payment not later than thirty (30) days after the date on which the Eligible Employee remits the Excise Tax to the appropriate taxing authorities.  Any good faith determinations of the firm made hereunder shall be final, binding and conclusive upon the Company and the Eligible Employee.

 

(e)            Code Section 409A.   If the Company (or, if applicable, the successor entity thereto) determines that the payments and benefits provided under the Plan (the “ Plan Payments ”) constitute “deferred compensation” under Code Section 409A (together, with any state law of similar effect, “ Section 409A ”) and an Eligible Employee is a “specified employee” of the Company or any successor entity thereto, as such term is defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) (a “ Specified Employee ”), then, solely to the extent necessary to avoid the incurrence of the adverse personal tax consequences under Section 409A, the timing of the Plan Payments shall be delayed as follows:  on the earliest to occur of (1) the date that is six months and one day after a “separation from service” (as such term is defined in Section 1.409A-1(h) of the Treasury Regulations), and (2) the date of the Eligible Employee’s death (such earliest date, the “ Delayed Initial Payment Date ”), and the Company (or the successor entity thereto, as applicable) shall then (i) pay to the Eligible Employee a lump sum amount equal to the sum of the Plan Payments that the Eligible Employee would otherwise have received through the Delayed Initial Payment Date if the commencement of the payment of the Plan Payments had not been delayed pursuant to this Section 3(e) and (ii) commence paying the balance of the Plan Payments in accordance with the applicable payment schedules set forth in on Appendix A.  Prior to the imposition of any delay on the Plan Payments as set forth above, it is intended that (A) each installment of the Plan Payments provided in Appendix A be regarded as a separate “payment” for purposes of Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-2(b)(2)(i), (B) all Plan Payments provided in Appendix A satisfy, to the greatest extent possible, the exemptions from the application of Section 409A provided under Treasury Regulations Sections 1.409A-1(b)(4) and 1.409A-1(b)(9)(iii), and (C) the Plan Payments consisting of COBRA premiums also satisfy, to the greatest extent possible, the exemption from the application of Section 409A provided under Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(9)(v).

 

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Section 4.               COMPANY PROPERTY.

 

(a)            Return of Company Property.   An Eligible Employee will not be entitled to any severance under the Plan unless and until the Eligible Employee returns all Company Property.  For this purpose, “ Company Property ” means all paper and electronic company documents (and all copies thereof) created and/or received by the Eligible Employee during his or her period of employment with the Company and other Company Property which the Eligible Employee had in his or her possession or control at any time, including, but not limited to, Company and/or Employer files, notes, drawings records, plans, forecasts, reports, studies, analyses, proposals, agreements, financial information, research and development information, sales and marketing information, operational and personnel information, specifications, code, software, databases, computer-recorded information, tangible property and equipment (including, but not limited to, leased vehicles, computers, computer equipment, software programs, facsimile machines, mobile telephones, servers), credit and calling cards, entry cards, identification badges and keys; and any materials of any kind which contain or embody any proprietary or confidential information of the Company and/or an Employer (and all reproductions thereof in whole or in part).  As a condition to receiving benefits under the Plan, Eligible Employees must not make or retain copies, reproductions or summaries of any such Company Property.  However, an Eligible Employee is not required to return his or her personal copies of documents evidencing the Eligible Employee’s hire, termination, compensation, benefits and stock options and any other documentation received as a shareholder of the Company.

 

(b)            Transition of Work.   An Eligible Employee will not be entitled to any severance benefit under the Plan unless and until the Eligible Employee (1) has satisfactorily transitioned his or her work and information concerning his or her work to the Company to the extent reasonably requested in writing by the Company and (2) has provided the Company with all logins, passwords, passcodes and similar information created by the Eligible Employee for documents, email and electronic files that the Eligible Employee created or used on Company systems.

 

Section 5.               TIME OF PAYMENT AND FORM OF BENEFIT.

 

Except as otherwise provided in Section 3, all severance benefits under the Plan shall be paid at the time and in the form provided in Appendix A following the Eligible Employee’s satisfaction of all of the requirements under the Plan.  All payments under the Plan will be subject to applicable withholding for federal, state and local taxes.  If an Eligible Employee is indebted to the Company at his or her termination date, the Company reserves the right to offset any severance payments under the Plan by the amount of such indebtedness.  Additionally, if an Eligible Employee is subject to withholding for taxes related to any non-Plan benefits, the Company may offset any severance payments under the Plan by the amount of such withholding taxes.  However, payments under the Plan will not be subject to any other deductions such as, but not limited to, 401(k) plan contributions and/or 401(k) loan repayments or other employee benefit and benefit plan contributions.

 

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Section 6.               RIGHT TO INTERPRET PLAN; AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION.

 

(a)            Exclusive Discretion.   The Plan Administrator is the Company.  As Plan Administrator, the Company is the named fiduciary charged with the responsibility for administering the Plan.  The Plan Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion and authority to establish rules, forms, and procedures for the administration of the Plan and to construe and interpret the Plan and to decide any and all questions of fact, interpretation, definition, computation or administration arising in connection with the operation of the Plan, including, but not limited to, the eligibility to participate in the Plan and amount of benefits paid under the Plan.  The Plan Administrator may delegate any or all of its administrative duties to an officer of the Company and any such delegation shall convey with it the full discretionary authority of the Plan Administrator to carry out the delegated duties.  The Company or the Plan Administrator shall indemnify and hold harmless any person to whom it delegated its responsibilities; provided , however , such person does not act with gross negligence or willful misconduct.  The rules, interpretations, computations


 
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