Exhibit 4.1
AMERICAN FIRE RETARDANT CORP.
EMPLOYEE STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN FOR THE YEAR 2004 No.
8
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 2,500,000,000, 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.
8. 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. 8.
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 leave of absence shall not exceed three months
and that the Employee returns to the employ of the Company at the
expiration of such leave of
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