Exhibit 4.1
AMERICAN FIRE RETARDANT CORP.
EMPLOYEE STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN FOR THE YEAR 2004 No.
6
1.1 Purpose . This Stock Incentive Plan (the
“Plan”) is intended to allow designated officers and
employees (all of whom are sometimes collectively referred to
herein as the “Employees,” or individually as the
“Employee”) of American Fire Retardant Corp., a Nevada
corporation (the “Company”) and its Subsidiaries (as
that term is defined below) which they may have from time to time
(the Company and such Subsidiaries are referred to herein as the
“Company”) to receive certain options (the “Stock
Options”) to purchase common stock of the Company, par value
$0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), and to receive
grants of the Common Stock subject to certain restrictions (the
“Awards”). As used in this Plan, the term
“Subsidiary” shall mean each corporation which is a
“subsidiary corporation” of the Company within the
meaning of Section 424(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the “Code”). The purpose of this Plan is to
provide the Employees, who make significant and extraordinary
contributions to the long-term growth and performance of the
Company, with equity-based compensation incentives, and to attract
and retain the Employees.
1.2.1 The Plan shall be administered by the
Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of, or
appointed by, the Board of Directors of the Company (the
“Board”). The Committee shall select one of its members
as Chairman and shall act by vote of a majority of a quorum, or by
unanimous written consent. A majority of its members shall
constitute a quorum. The Committee shall be governed by the
provisions of the Company’s Bylaws and of Nevada law
applicable to the Board, except as otherwise provided herein or
determined by the Board.
1.2.2 The Committee shall have full and complete
authority, in its discretion, but subject to the express provisions
of this Plan (a) to approve the Employees nominated by the
management of the Company to be granted Awards or Stock Options;
(b) to determine the number of Awards or Stock Options to be
granted to an Employee; (c) to determine the time or times at which
Awards or Stock Options shall be granted; (d) to establish the
terms and conditions upon which Awards or Stock Options may be
exercised; (e) to remove or adjust any restrictions and conditions
upon Awards or Stock Options; (f) to specify, at the time of grant,
provisions relating to exercisability of Stock Options and to
accelerate or otherwise modify the exercisability of any Stock
Options; and (g) to adopt such rules and regulations and to make
all other determinations deemed necessary or desirable for the
administration of this Plan. All interpretations and constructions
of this Plan by the Committee, and all of its actions hereunder,
shall be binding and conclusive on all persons for all
purposes.
1.2.3 The Company hereby agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless each Committee member and each Employee, and the estate
and heirs of such Committee member or Employee, against all claims,
liabilities, expenses, penalties, damages or other pecuniary
losses, including legal fees, which such Committee member or
Employee, his estate or heirs may suffer as a result of his
responsibilities, obligations or duties in connection with this
Plan, to the extent that insurance, if any, does not cover the
payment of such items. No member of the Committee or the Board
shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith
with respect to this Plan or any Award or Stock Option granted
pursuant to this Plan.
1.3 Eligibility and Participation
. The Employees eligible under this
Plan shall be approved by the Committee from those Employees who,
in the opinion of the management of the Company, are in positions
which enable them to make significant contributions to the
long-term performance and growth of the Company. In selecting the
Employees to whom Award or Stock Options may be granted,
consideration shall be given to factors such as employment
position, duties and responsibilities, ability, productivity,
length of service, morale, interest in the Company and
recommendations of supervisors.
1.4
Shares Subject to this
Plan . The maximum number
of shares of the Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to this
Plan shall be 2,000,000,000, subject to adjustment pursuant to the
provisions of Paragraph 4.1. If shares of the Common Stock awarded
or issued under this Plan are reacquired by the Company due to a
forfeiture or for any other reason, such shares shall be cancelled
and thereafter shall again be available for purposes of this Plan.
If a Stock Option expires, terminates or is cancelled for any
reason without having been exercised in full, the shares of the
Common Stock not purchased thereunder shall again be available for
purposes of this Plan. In the event that any outstanding Stock
Option or Award under this Plan for any reason expires or is
terminated, the shares of Common Stock allocable to the unexercised
portion of the Stock Option or Award shall be available for
issuance under the American Fire Retardant Corp. Non-Employee
Directors and Consultants Retainer Stock Plan for the Year 2004 No.
6. The Compensation Committee of the Board shall have the
authority, in its discretion, to increase the number of shares
available for issuance under this Plan, while correspondingly
decreasing the number of shares available for issuance under the
American Fire Retardant Corp. Non-Employee Directors and
Consultants Retainer Stock Plan for the Year 2004 No. 6.
2. Provisions Relating to Stock Options
.
2.1 Grants of Stock Options . The Committee may grant Stock Options in such
amounts, at such times, and to the Employees nominated by the
management of the Company as the Committee, in its discretion, may
determine. Stock Options granted under this Plan shall constitute
“incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section
422 of the Code, if so designated by the Committee on the date of
grant. The Committee shall also have the discretion to grant Stock
Options which do not constitute incentive stock options, and any
such Stock Options shall be designated non-statutory stock options
by the Committee on the date of grant. The aggregate Fair Market
Value (determined as of the time an incentive stock option is
granted) of the Common Stock with respect to which incentive stock
options are exercisable for the first time by any Employee during
any one calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any
parent or subsidiary of the Company) may not exceed the maximum
amount permitted under Section 422 of the Code (currently,
$100,000.00). Non-statutory stock options shall not be subject to
the limitations relating to incentive stock options contained in
the preceding sentence. Each Stock Option shall be evidenced by a
written agreement (the “Option Agreement”) in a form
approved by the Committee, which shall be executed on behalf of the
Company and by the Employee to whom the Stock Option is granted,
and which shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this
Plan. In the discretion of the Committee, Stock Options may include
provisions (which need not be uniform), authorized by the Committee
in its discretion, that accelerate an Employee’s rights to
exercise Stock Options following a “Change in Control,”
upon termination of the Employee’s employment by the Company
without “Cause” or by the Employee for “Good
Reason,” as such terms are defined in Paragraph 3.1 hereof.
The holder of a Stock Option shall not be entitled to the
privileges of stock ownership as to any shares of the Common Stock
not actually issued to such holder.
2.2 Purchase Price . The purchase price (the “Exercise
Price”) of shares of the Common Stock subject to each Stock
Option (the “Option Shares”) shall not be less than 85
percent of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on the date of
the grant of the option. For an Employee holding greater than 10
percent of the total voting power of all stock of the Company,
either Common or Preferred, the Exercise Price of an incentive
stock option shall be at least 110 percent of the Fair Market Value
of the Common Stock on the date of the grant of the option. As used
herein, “Fair Market Value” means the mean between the
highest and lowest reported sales prices of the Common Stock on the
New York Stock Exchange Composite Tape or, if not listed on such
exchange, on any other national securities exchange on which the
Common Stock is listed or on The Nasdaq Stock Market, or, if not so
listed on any other national securities exchange or The Nasdaq
Stock Market, then the average of the bid price of the Common Stock
during the last five trading days on the OTC Bulletin Board
immediately preceding the last trading day prior to the date with
respect to which the Fair Market Value is to be determined. If the
Common Stock is not then publicly traded, then the Fair Market
Value of the Common Stock shall be the book value of the Company
per share as determined on the last day of March, June, September,
or December in any year closest to the date when the determination
is to be made. For the purpose of determining book value hereunder,
book value shall be determined by adding as of the applicable date
called for herein the capital, surplus, and undivided profits of
the Company, and after having deducted any reserves theretofore
established; the sum of these items shall be divided by the number
of shares of the Common Stock outstanding as of said date, and the
quotient thus obtained shall represent the book value of each share
of the Common Stock of the Company.
2.3 Option Period . The Stock Option period (the
“Term”) shall commence on the date of grant of the
Stock Option and shall be 10 years or such shorter period as is
determined by the Committee. Each Stock Option shall provide that
it is exercisable over its term in such periodic installments as
the Committee may determine, subject to the provisions of Paragraph
2.4.1. Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange Act”) exempts persons normally
subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the
Exchange Act (the “Section 16 Reporting Persons”)
pursuant to a qualified employee stock option plan from the normal
requirement of not selling until at least six months and one day
from the date the Stock Option is granted.
2.4 Exercise of Options .
2.4.1 Each Stock Option may be exercised in whole or
in part (but not as to fractional shares) by delivering it for
surrender or endorsement to the Company, attention of the Corporate
Secretary, at the principal office of the Company, together with
payment of the Exercise Price and an executed Notice and Agreement
of Exercise in the form prescribed by Paragraph 2.4.2. Payment may
be made (a) in cash, (b) by cashier’s or certified check, (c)
by surrender of previously owned shares of the Common Stock valued
pursuant to Paragraph 2.2 (if the Committee authorizes payment in
stock in its discretion), (d) by withholding from the Option Shares
which would otherwise be issuable upon the exercise of the Stock
Option that number of Option Shares equal to the exercise price of
the Stock Option, if such withholding is authorized by the
Committee in its discretion, or (e) in the discretion of the
Committee, by the delivery to the Company of the optionee’s
promissory note secured by the Option Shares, bearing interest at a
rate sufficient to prevent the imputation of interest under
Sections 483 or 1274 of the Code, and having such other terms and
conditions as may be satisfactory to the Committee. Subject to the
provisions of this Paragraph 2.4 and Paragraph 2.5, the Employee
has the right to exercise his or her Stock Options at the rate of
at least 20 percent per year over five years from the date the
Stock Option is granted.
2.4.2 Exercise of each Stock Option is conditioned
upon the agreement of the Employee to the terms and conditions of
this Plan and of such Stock Option as evidenced by the
Employee’s execution and delivery of a Notice and Agreement
of Exercise in a form to be determined by the Committee in its
discretion. Such Notice and Agreement of Exercise shall set forth
the agreement of the Employee that (a) no Option Shares will be
sold or otherwise distributed in violation of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or any other
applicable federal or state securities laws, (b) each Option Share
certificate may be imprinted with legends reflecting any applicable
federal and state securities law restrictions and conditions, (c)
the Company may comply with said securities law restrictions and
issue “stop transfer” instructions to its Transfer
Agent and Registrar without liability, (d) if the Employee is a
Section 16 Reporting Person, the Employee will furnish to the
Company a copy of each Form 4 or Form 5 filed by said Employee and
will timely file all reports required under federal securities
laws, and (e) the Employee will report all sales of Option Shares
to the Company in writing on a form prescribed by the
Company.
2.4.3 No Stock Option shall be exercisable unless and
until any applicable registration or qualification requirements of
federal and state securities laws, and all other legal
requirements, have been fully complied with. At no time shall the
total number of securities issuable upon exercise of all
outstanding options under this Plan, and the total number of
securities provided for under any bonus or similar plan or
agreement of the Company exceed a number of securities which is
equal to 30 percent of the then outstanding securities of the
Company, unless a percentage higher than 30 percent is approved by
at least two-thirds of the outstanding securities entitled to vote.
The Company will use reasonable efforts to maintain the
effectiveness of a Registration Statement under the Securities Act
for the issuance of Stock Options and shares acquired thereunder,
but there may be times when no such Registration Statement will be
currently effective. The exercise of Stock Options may be
temporarily suspended without liability to the Company during times
when no such Registration Statement is currently effective, or
during times when, in the reasonable opinion of the Committee, such
suspension is necessary to preclude violation of any requirements
of applicable law or regulatory bodies having jurisdiction over the
Company. If any Stock Option would expire for any reason except the
end of its term during such a suspension, then if exercise of such
Stock Option is duly tendered before its expiration, such Stock
Option shall be exercisable and exercised (unless the attempted
exercise is withdrawn) as of the first day after the end of such
suspension. The Company shall have no obligation to file any
Registration Statement covering resales of Option
Shares.
2.5 Continuous Employment . Except as provided in Paragraph 2.7 below, an
Employee may not exercise a Stock Option unless from the date of
grant to the date of exercise the Employee remains continuously in
the employ of the Company. For purposes of this Paragraph 2.5, the
period of continuous employment of an Employee with the Company
shall be deemed to include (without extending the term of the Stock
Option) any period during which the Employee is on leave of absence
with the consent of the Company, provided that such le
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