Exhibit 10.1
IBERIABANK
Corporation
2005 STOCK INCENTIVE
PLAN
1. Establishment, Purpose, and
Types of Awards
IBERIABANK Corporation (the
“Company”) hereby establishes this equity-based
incentive compensation plan to be known as the “IBERIABANK
Corporation 2005 Stock Incentive Plan” (hereinafter referred
to as the “Plan”), in order to provide incentives and
awards to select employees and directors of the Company and its
Affiliates.
The Plan permits the granting of the
following types of awards (“Awards”), according to the
Sections of the Plan listed here:
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Section
6
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Options
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Section
7
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Share
Appreciation Rights
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Section
8
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Restricted
Shares, Restricted Share Units, and Unrestricted Shares
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Section
9
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Deferred Share
Units
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Section
10
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Performance
Awards
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The Plan is not intended to affect
and shall not affect any stock options, equity-based compensation,
or other benefits that the Company or its Affiliates may have
provided, or may separately provide in the future pursuant to any
agreement, plan, or program that is independent of this
Plan.
2. Defined
Terms
Terms in the Plan that begin with an
initial capital letter have the defined meaning set forth in
Appendix A , unless defined elsewhere in this Plan or the
context of their use clearly indicates a different
meaning.
3. Shares Subject to the
Plan
Subject to the provisions of
Section 13 of the Plan, the maximum number of Shares that the
Company may issue for all Awards is 450,000 Shares, provided that
the Company shall not issue more than forty (40%) percent of
those Shares pursuant to Awards in a form other than Options and
SARs. For all Awards, the Shares issued pursuant to the Plan may be
authorized but unissued Shares, or Shares that the Company has
reacquired or otherwise holds in treasury.
Shares that are subject to an Award
that for any reason expires, is forfeited, is cancelled, or becomes
unexercisable, and Shares that are for any other reason not paid or
delivered under the Plan shall again, except to the extent
prohibited by Applicable Law, be available for subsequent Awards
under the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, but subject to
adjustments pursuant to Section 13 below, the number of Shares
that are available for ISO Awards shall be determined, to the
extent required under applicable tax laws, by reducing the number
of Shares designated in the preceding paragraph by the number of
Shares issued pursuant to Awards, provided that any Shares
that are issued under the Plan and forfeited back to the Plan
shall be available for issuance pursuant to future ISO
Awards.
4.
Administration
(a) General . The
Committee shall administer the Plan in accordance with its terms,
provided that the Board may act in lieu of the Committee on any
matter. The Committee shall hold meetings at such times and places
as it may determine and shall make such rules and regulations for
the conduct of its business as it deems advisable. In the absence
of a duly appointed Committee or if the Board otherwise chooses to
act in lieu of the Committee, the Board shall function as the
Committee for all purposes of the Plan.
(b) Committee Composition
. The Board shall appoint the members of the Committee. If
and to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Committee may
authorize one or more Reporting Persons (or other officers) to make
Awards to Eligible Persons who are not Reporting Persons (or other
officers whom the Committee
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has specifically authorized to make Awards). The
Board may at any time appoint additional members to the Committee,
remove and replace members of the Committee with or without Cause,
and fill vacancies on the Committee however caused.
(c) Powers of the Committee.
Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee shall have the
authority, in its sole discretion:
(i) to determine Eligible Persons to
whom Awards shall be granted from time to time and the number of
Shares, units, or SARs to be covered by each Award;
(ii) to determine, from time to
time, the Fair Market Value of Shares;
(iii) to determine, and to set forth
in Award Agreements, the terms and conditions of all Awards,
including any applicable exercise or purchase price, the
installments and conditions under which an Award shall become
vested (which may be based on performance), terminated, expired,
cancelled, or replaced, and the circumstances for vesting
acceleration or waiver of forfeiture restrictions, and other
restrictions and limitations;
(iv) to approve the forms of Award
Agreements and all other documents, notices and certificates in
connection therewith which need not be identical either as to type
of Award or among Participants;
(v) to construe and interpret the
terms of the Plan and any Award Agreement, to determine the meaning
of their terms, and to prescribe, amend, and rescind rules and
procedures relating to the Plan and its administration;
and
(vi) in order to fulfill the
purposes of the Plan and without amending the Plan, modify, cancel,
or waive the Company’s rights with respect to any Awards, to
adjust or to modify Award Agreements for changes in Applicable Law,
and to recognize differences in foreign law, tax policies, or
customs; and
(vii) to make all other
interpretations and to take all other actions that the Committee
may consider necessary or advisable to administer the Plan or to
effectuate its purposes.
Subject to Applicable Law and the
restrictions set forth in the Plan, the Committee may delegate
administrative functions to individuals who are Reporting Persons,
officers, or Employees of the Company or its Affiliates.
(d) Deference to Committee
Determinations. The Committee shall have the discretion to
interpret or construe ambiguous, unclear, or implied (but omitted)
terms in any fashion it deems to be appropriate in its sole
discretion, and to make any findings of fact needed in the
administration of the Plan or Award Agreements. The
Committee’s prior exercise of its discretionary authority
shall not obligate it to exercise its authority in a like fashion
thereafter. The Committee’s interpretation and construction
of any provision of the Plan, or of any Award or Award Agreement,
shall be final, binding, and conclusive. The validity of any such
interpretation, construction, decision or finding of fact shall not
be given de novo review if challenged in court, by arbitration, or
in any other forum, and shall be upheld unless clearly arbitrary or
capricious.
(e) No Liability;
Indemnification. Neither the Board nor any Committee member,
nor any Person acting at the direction of the Board or the
Committee, shall be liable for any act, omission, interpretation,
construction or determination made in good faith with respect to
the Plan, any Award or any Award Agreement. The Company and its
Affiliates shall pay or reimburse any member of the Committee, as
well as any Director, Employee, or Consultant who takes action in
connection with the Plan, for all expenses incurred with respect to
the Plan, and to the full extent allowable under Applicable Law
shall indemnify each and every one of them for any claims,
liabilities, and costs (including reasonable attorney’s fees)
arising out of their good faith performance of duties under the
Plan. The Company and its Affiliates may obtain liability insurance
for this purpose.
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5. Eligibility
(a) General Rule . The
Committee may grant ISOs only to Employees (including officers who
are Employees) of the Company or an Affiliate that is a
“parent corporation” or “subsidiary
corporation” within the meaning of Section 424 of the
Code, and may grant all other Awards to any Eligible Person. A
Participant who has been granted an Award may be granted an
additional Award or Awards if the Committee shall so determine, if
such person is otherwise an Eligible Person and if otherwise in
accordance with the terms of the Plan.
(b) Grant of Awards . Subject
to the express provisions of the Plan, the Committee shall
determine from the class of Eligible Persons those individuals to
whom Awards under the Plan may be granted, the number of Shares
subject to each Award, the price (if any) to be paid for the Shares
or the Award and, in the case of Performance Awards, in addition to
the matters addressed in Section 10 below, the specific
objectives, goals and performance criteria that further define the
Performance Award. Each Award shall be evidenced by an Award
Agreement signed by the Company and, if required by the Committee,
by the Participant. The Award Agreement shall set forth the
material terms and conditions of the Award established by the
Committee.
(c) Limits on Awards . During
the term of the Plan, no Participant may receive Options and SARs
that relate to more than 50,000 Shares per calendar year. The
Committee will adjust this limitation pursuant to Section 13
below.
(d) Replacement Awards .
Subject to Applicable Laws (including any associated Shareholder
approval requirements), the Committee may, in its sole discretion
and upon such terms as it deems appropriate, require as a condition
of the grant of an Award to a Participant that the Participant
surrender for cancellation some or all of the Awards that have
previously been granted to the Participant under this Plan or
otherwise. An Award that is conditioned upon such surrender may or
may not be the same type of Award, may cover the same (or a lesser
or greater) number of Shares as such surrendered Award, may have
other terms that are determined without regard to the terms or
conditions of such surrendered Award, and may contain any other
terms that the Committee deems appropriate. In the case of Options,
these other terms may not involve an Exercise Price that is lower
than the Exercise Price of the surrendered Option unless the
Company’s shareholders approve the grant itself or the
program under which the grant is made pursuant to the
Plan.
6. Option
Awards
(a) Types; Documentation .
The Committee may in its discretion grant ISOs to any Employee and
Non-ISOs to any Eligible Person, and shall evidence any such grants
in an Award Agreement that is delivered to the Participant. Each
Option shall be designated in the Award Agreement as an ISO or a
Non-ISO, and the same Award Agreement may grant both types of
Options. At the sole discretion of the Committee, any Option may be
exercisable, in whole or in part, immediately upon the grant
thereof, or only after the occurrence of a specified event, or only
in installments, which installments may vary. Options granted under
the Plan may contain such terms and provisions not inconsistent
with the Plan that the Committee shall deem advisable in its sole
and absolute discretion.
(b) ISO $100,000 Limitation.
To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value of Shares with
respect to which Options designated as ISOs first become
exercisable by a Participant in any calendar year (under this Plan
and any other plan of the Company or any Affiliate) exceeds
$100,000, such excess Options shall be treated as Non-ISOs. For
purposes of determining whether the $100,000 limit is exceeded, the
Fair Market Value of the Shares subject to an ISO shall be
determined as of the Grant Date. In reducing the number of Options
treated as ISOs to meet the $100,000 limit, the most recently
granted Options shall be reduced first. In the event that
Section 422 of the Code is amended to alter the limitation set
forth therein, the limitation of this Section 6(b) shall be
automatically adjusted accordingly.
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(c) Term of Options . Each
Award Agreement shall specify a term at the end of which the Option
automatically expires, subject to earlier termination provisions
contained in Section 6(h) hereof; provided, that, the term of
any Option may not exceed ten years from the Grant Date. In the
case of an ISO granted to an Employee who is a Ten Percent Holder
on the Grant Date, the term of the ISO shall not exceed five years
from the Grant Date.
(d) Exercise Price. The
exercise price of an Option shall be determined by the Committee in
its discretion and shall be set forth in the Award Agreement,
provided that (i) if an ISO is granted to an Employee who on
the Grant Date is a Ten Percent Holder, the per Share exercise
price shall not be less than 110% of the Fair Market Value per
Share on the Grant Date, and (ii) for all other Options, such
per Share exercise price shall not be less than 100% of the Fair
Market Value per Share on the Grant Date.
(e) Exercise of Option . The
Committee shall in its sole discretion determine the times,
circumstances, and conditions under which an Option shall be
exercisable, and shall set them forth in the Award Agreement. The
Committee shall have the discretion to determine whether and to
what extent the vesting of Options shall be tolled during any
unpaid leave of absence; provided, however, that in the absence of
such determination, vesting of Options shall be tolled during any
such leave approved by the Company.
(f) Minimum Exercise
Requirements . An Option may not be exercised for a fraction of
a Share. The Committee may require in an Award Agreement that an
Option be exercised as to a minimum number of Shares, provided that
such requirement shall not prevent a Participant from purchasing
the full number of Shares as to which the Option is then
exercisable.
(g) Methods of Exercise.
Prior to its expiration pursuant to the terms of the applicable
Award Agreement, each Option may be exercised, in whole or in part
(provided that the Company shall not be required to issue
fractional shares), by delivery of written notice of exercise to
the secretary of the Company accompanied by the full exercise price
of the Shares being purchased. In the case of an ISO, the Committee
shall determine the acceptable methods of payment on the Grant Date
and it shall be included in the applicable Award Agreement. The
methods of payment that the Committee may in its discretion accept
or commit to accept in an Award Agreement include:
(i) cash or check payable to the
Company (in U.S. dollars);
(ii) other Shares that (A) are
owned by the Participant who is purchasing Shares pursuant to an
Option, (B) have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender
equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Shares as to which the
Option is being exercised, (C) were not acquired by such
Participant pursuant to the exercise of an Option, unless such
Shares have been owned by such Participant for at least six months
or such other period as the Committee may determine, (D) are
all, at the time of such surrender, free and clear of any and all
claims, pledges, liens and encumbrances, or any restrictions which
would in any manner restrict the transfer of such shares to or by
the Company (other than such restrictions as may have existed prior
to an issuance of such Shares by the Company to such Participant),
and (E) are duly endorsed for transfer to the
Company;
(iii) a cashless exercise program
that the Committee may approve, from time to time in its
discretion, pursuant to which a Participant may concurrently
provide irrevocable instructions (A) to such
Participant’s broker or dealer to effect the immediate sale
of the purchased Shares and remit to the Company, out of the sale
proceeds available on the settlement date, sufficient funds to
cover the exercise price of the Option plus all applicable taxes
required to be withheld by the Company by reason of such exercise,
and (B) to the Company to deliver the certificates for the
purchased Shares directly to such broker or dealer in order to
complete the sale; or
(iv) any combination of the
foregoing methods of payment.
The Company shall not be required to
deliver Shares pursuant to the exercise of an Option until payment
of the full exercise price therefore is received by the
Company.
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(h) Termination of Continuous
Service . The Committee may establish and set forth in
the applicable Award Agreement the terms and conditions on which an
Option shall remain exercisable, if at all, following termination
of a Participant’s Continuous Service. The Committee may
waive or modify these provisions at any time. To the extent that a
Participant is not entitled to exercise an Option at the date of
his or her termination of Continuous Service, or if the Participant
(or other person entitled to exercise the Option) does not exercise
the Option to the extent so entitled within the time specified in
the Award Agreement or below (as applicable), the Option shall
terminate and the Shares underlying the unexercised portion of the
Option shall revert to the Plan and become available for future
Awards. In no event may any Option be exercised after the
expiration of the Option term as set forth in the Award
Agreement.
The following provisions shall apply
to the extent an Award Agreement does not specify the terms and
conditions upon which an Option shall terminate when there is a
termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service:
(i) Termination other than Upon
Disability or Death or for Cause . In the event of termination
of a Participant’s Continuous Service (other than as a result
of Participant’s death, disability, retirement or termination
for Cause), the Participant shall have the right to exercise an
Option at any time within 90 days following such termination to the
extent the Participant was entitled to exercise such Option at the
date of such termination.
(ii) Disability . In the
event of termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service as
a result of his or her being Disabled, the Participant shall have
the right to exercise an Option at any time within one year
following such termination to the extent the Participant was
entitled to exercise such Option at the date of such
termination.
(iii) Retirement . In the
event of termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service as
a result of Participant’s retirement, the Participant shall
have the right to exercise the Option at any time within six months
following such termination to the extent the Participant was
entitled to exercise such Option at the date of such
termination.
(iv) Death . In the event of
the death of a Participant during the period of Continuous Service
since the Grant Date of an Option, or within thirty days following
termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service, the
Option may be exercised, at any time within one year following the
date of the Participant’s death, by the Participant’s
estate or by a person who acquired the right to exercise the Option
by bequest or inheritance, but only to the extent the right to
exercise the Option had vested at the date of death or, if earlier,
the date the Participant’s Continuous Service
terminated.
(v) Cause . If the Committee
determines that a Participant’s Continuous Service terminated
due to Cause, the Participant shall immediately forfeit the right
to exercise any Option, and it shall be considered immediately null
and void.
(i) Reverse Vesting. The
Committee in its sole and absolute discretion may allow a
Participant to exercise unvested Options, in which case the Shares
then issued shall be Restricted Shares having analogous vesting
restrictions to the unvested Options.
7. Share Appreciate Rights
(SARs)
(a) Grants . The Committee
may in its discretion grant Share Appreciation Rights to any
Eligible Person, in any of the following forms:
(i) SARs related to Options .
The Committee may grant SARs either concurrently with the grant of
an Option or with respect to an outstanding Option, in which case
the SAR shall extend to all or a portion of the Shares covered by
the related Option. An SAR shall entitle the Participant who holds
the related Option, upon exercise of the SAR and surrender of the
related Option, or portion thereof, to the extent the SAR and
related Option each were previously unexercised, to receive payment
of an amount
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(ii) determined pursuant to
Section 7(e) below. Any SAR granted in connection with an ISO
will contain such terms as may be required to comply with the
provisions of Section 422 of the Code and the regulations
promulgated thereunder.
(iii) SARs Independent of
Options . The Committee may grant SARs which are independent of
any Option subject to such conditions as the Committee may in its
discretion determine, which conditions will be set forth in the
applicable Award Agreement.
(iv) Limited SARs . The
Committee may grant SARs exercisable only upon or in respect of a
Change in Control or any other specified event, and such limited
SARs may relate to or operate in tandem or combination with or
substitution for Options or other SARs, or on a stand-alone basis,
and may be payable in cash or Shares based on the spread between
the exercise price of the SAR, and (A) a price based upon or
equal to the Fair Market Value of the Shares during a specified
period, at a specified time within a specified period before, after
or including the date of such event, or (B) a price related to
consideration payable to Company’s shareholders generally in
connection with the event.
(b) Exercise Price . The per
Share exercise price of an SAR shall be determined in the sole
discretion of the Committee, shall be set forth in the applicable
Award Agreement, and shall be no less than 100% of the Fair Market
Value of one Share. The exercise price of an SAR related to an
Option shall be the same as the exercise price of the related
Option. The exercise price of an SAR shall be subject to the
special rules on pricing contained in Sections 6(d) and
6(j) hereof.
(c) Exercise of SARs . Unless
the Award Agreement otherwise provides, an SAR related to an Option
will be exercisable at such time or times, and to the extent, that
the related Option will be exercisable; provided that the Award
Agreement shall not, without the approval of the shareholders of
the Company, provide for a vesting period for the exercise of the
SAR that is more favorable to the Participant than the exercise
period for the related Option. An SAR may not have a term exceeding
ten years from its Grant Date. An SAR granted independently of any
other Award will be exercisable pursuant to the terms of the Award
Agreement, but shall not, without the approval of the shareholders
of the Company, provide for a vesting period for the exercise of
the SAR that is more favorable to the Participant than the exercise
period for the related Option. Whether an SAR is related to an
Option or is granted independently, the SAR may only be exercised
when the Fair Market Value of the Shares underlying the SAR exceeds
the exercise price of the SAR.
(d) Effect on Available
Shares . All SARs are to be settled in shares of the
Company’s stock and shall be counted in full against the
number of shares available for award under the Plan, regardless of
the number of exercise gain shares issued upon settlement of the
SARs.
(e) Payment. Upon exercise of
an SAR related to an Option and the attendant surrender of an
exercisable portion of any related Award, the Participant will be
entitled to receive payment of an amount determined by multiplying
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(i) the excess of the Fair Market
Value of a Share on the date of exercise of the SAR over the
exercise price per Share of the SAR, by
(ii) the number of Shares with
respect to which the SAR has been exercised.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, an
SAR granted independently of an Option (i) may limit the
amount payable to the Participant to a percentage, specified in the
Award Agreement but not exceeding one-hundred percent (100%), of
the amount determined pursuant to the preceding sentence, and
(ii) shall be subject to any payment or other restrictions
that the Committee may at any time impose in its discretion,
including restrictions intended to conform the SARs with
Section 409A of the Code.
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(f) Form and Terms of Payment
. Subject to Applicable Law, the Committee may, in its sole
discretion, settle the amount determined under Section 7(e)
above solely in cash, solely in Shares (valued at their Fair Market
Value on the date of exercise of the SAR), or partly in cash and
partly in Shares. In any event, cash shall be paid in lieu of
fractional Shares. Absent a contrary determination by the
Committee, all SARs shall be settled in cash as soon as practicable
after exercise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may,
in an Award Agreement, determine the maximum amount of cash or
Shares or combination thereof that may be delivered upon exercise
of an SAR.
(g) Termination of Employment or
Consulting Relationship . The Committee shall establish
and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement the terms and
conditions on which an SAR shall remain exercisable, if at all,
following termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service.
The provisions of Section 6(h) above shall apply to the extent
an Award Agreement does not specify the terms and conditions upon
which an SAR shall terminate when there is a termination of a
Participant’s Continuous Service.
8. Restricted Shares,
Restricted Share Units, and Unrestricted Shares
(a) Grants. The Committee may
in its discretion grant restricted shares (“Restricted
Shares”) to any Eligible Person and shall evidence such grant
in an Award Agreement that is delivered to the Participant and that
sets forth the number of Restricted Shares, the purchase price for
such Restricted Shares (if any), and the terms upon which the
Restricted Shares may become vested. In addition, the Company may
in its discretion grant the right to receive Shares after certain
vesting requirements are met (“Restricted Share Units”)
to any Eligible Person and shall evidence such grant in an Award
Agreement that is delivered to the Participant which sets forth the
number of Shares (or formula, that may be based on future
performance or conditions, for determining the number of Shares)
that the Participant shall be entitled to receive upon vesting and
the terms upon which the Shares subject to a Restricted Share Unit
may become vested. The Committee may condition any Award of
Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units to a Participant on
receiving from the Participant such further assurances and
documents as the Committee may require to enforce the restrictions.
In addition, the Committee may grant Awards hereunder in the form
of unrestricted shares (“Unrestricted Shares”), which
shall vest in full upon the date of grant or such other date as the
Committee may determine or which the Committee may issue pursuant
to any program under which one or more Eligible Persons (selected
by the Committee in its discretion) elect to receive Unrestricted
Shares in lieu of cash bonuses that would otherwise be
paid.
(b) Vesting and Forfeiture .
The Committee shall set forth in an Award Agreement granting
Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units, the terms and
conditions under which the Participant’s interest in the
Restricted Shares or the Shares subject to Restricted Share Units
will become vested and non-forfeitable. Except as set forth in the
applicable Award Agreement or the Committee otherwise determines,
upon termination of a Participant’s Continuous Service for
any other reason, the Participant shall forfeit his or her
Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units; provided that if a
Participant purchases the Restricted Shares and forfeits them for
any reason, the Company shall return the purchase price to the
Participant only if and to the extent set forth in an Award
Agreement.
(c) Issuance of Restricted Shares
Prior to Vesting . The Company shall issue stock certificates
that evidence Restricted Shares pending the lapse of applicable
restrictions, and that bear a legend making appropriate reference
to such restrictions. Except as set forth in the applicable Award
Agreement or the Committee otherwise determines, the Company or a
third party that the Company designates shall hold such Restricted
Shares and any dividends that accrue with respect to Restricted
Shares pursuant to Section 8(e) below.
(d) Issuance of Shares upon
Vesting . As soon as practicable after vesting of a
Participant’s Restricted Shares (or Shares underlying
Restricted Share Units) and the Participant’s satisfaction of
applicable tax withholding requirements, the Company shall release
to the Participant, free from the vesting restrictions, one Share
for each vested Restricted Share (or issue one Share free of the
vesting restriction for each vested Restricted Share Unit), unless
an Award Agreement provides otherwise. No fractional shares shall
be distributed, and cash shall be paid in lieu thereof.
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(e) Dividends Payable on
Vesting . Whenever Shares are released to a Participant under
Section 8(d) above pursuant to the vesting of Restricted
Shares or the Shares underlying Restricted Share Units are issued
to a Participant pursuant to Section 8(d) above, such
Participant shall receive (unless otherwise provided in the Award
Agreement), with respect to each Share released or issued, an
amount equal to any cash dividends (plus, in the discretion of the
Committee, simple interest at a rate as the Committee may
determine) and a number of Shares equal to any stock dividends,
which were declared and paid to the holders of Shares between the
Grant Date and the date such Share is released or
issued.
(f) Section 83(b)
Elections . A Participant may make an election under
Section 83(b) of the Code (the “Section 83(b)
Election”) with respect to Restricted Shares. If a
Participant who has received Restricted Share Units provides the
Committee with written notice of his or her intention to make
Section 83(b) Election with respect to the Shares subject to
such Restricted Share Units, the Committee may in its discretion
convert the Participant’s Restricted Share Units into
Restricted Shares, on a one-for-one basis, in full satisfaction of
the Participant’s Restricted Share Unit Award. The
Participant may then make a Section 83(b) Election with
respect to those Restricted Shares. Shares with respect to which a
Participant makes a Section 83(b) Election shall not be
eligible for deferral pursuant to Section 9 below.
(g) Deferral Elections . At
any time within the thirty-day period (or other shorter or longer
period that the Committee selects) in which a Participant who is a
member of a select group of management or highly compensated
employees (within the meaning of the Code) receives an Award of
either Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units, the Committee
may permit the Participant to irrevocably elect, on a form provided
by and acceptable to the Committee, to defer the receipt of all or
a percentage of the Shares that would otherwise be transferred to
the Participant upon the vesting of such Award. If the Participant
makes this election, the Shares subject to the election, and any
associated dividends and interest, shall be credited to an account
established pursuant to Section 9 hereof on the date such
Shares would otherwise have been released or issued to the
Participant pursuant to Section 8(d) above.
9. Deferred Share
Units
(a) Elections to Defer. The
Committee may permit any Eligible Person who is a Director,
Consultant or member of a select group of management or highly
compensated employees (within the meaning of the Code) to
irrevocably elect, on a form provided by and acceptable to the
Committee (the “Election Form”), to forego the receipt
of cash or other compensation (including the Shares deliverable
pursuant to any Award other than Restricted Shares for which a
Section 83(b) Election has been made), and in lieu thereof to
have the Company credit to an internal Plan account (the
“Account”) a number of deferred share units
(“Deferred Share Units”) having a Fair Market Value
equal to the Shares and other compensation deferred. These credits
will be made at the end of each calendar month during which
compensation is deferred. Each Election Form shall take effect on
the first day of the next calendar year (or on the first day of the
next calendar month in the case of an initial election by a
Participant who is first eligible to defer hereunder) after its
delivery to the Comp