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EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 2004 EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN AS AMENDED AND RESTATED IN 2008

Executive Compensation Plan Agreement

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 2004 EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN AS AMENDED AND RESTATED IN 2008 | Document Parties: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION You are currently viewing:
This Executive Compensation Plan Agreement involves

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

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Title: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 2004 EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN AS AMENDED AND RESTATED IN 2008
Governing Law: Indiana     Date: 1/7/2009
Industry: Broadcasting and Cable TV     Sector: Services

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION 2004 EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN AS AMENDED AND RESTATED IN 2008, Parties: emmis communications corporation
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Exhibit 10.14

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION
2004 EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN AS AMENDED AND RESTATED IN 2008

      1. Purpose . The primary purposes of the Plan are to provide equity compensation in lieu of cash compensation for employees, officers, directors and independent contractors of the Company and its subsidiaries, to increase employee, officer, director and independent contractor stock ownership opportunities and to improve the Company’s ability to attract and retain a team of outstanding employees, officers, directors and independent contractors.

      2. Definitions. As used in the Plan, terms defined parenthetically immediately after their use have the respective meanings provided by such definitions and the terms set forth below have the following meanings (such meanings to be equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of the terms defined):

          “Affiliate” means, with respect to a specified person, a person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.

          “Award” means Options, shares of Restricted Stock, Stock Appreciation Rights or Performance Units granted under the Plan.

          “Award Agreement” has the meaning specified in Section 4(b)(vi).

          “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

          “Cause” means, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, conviction of the Grantee of any felony or other crime involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude, or the Grantee’s habitual neglect of his duties; provided, however, that if a Grantee is subject to an employment agreement with the Company or a Subsidiary, or has a Personal Services Contract , “cause” shall mean any breach of such agreement or contract by the Grantee giving the Company or a Subsidiary the right to terminate the agreement or contract.

          “Change in Control” means any of the following: (i) any person or group (other than a Subsidiary or any employee benefit plan (or any related trust) of the Company or a Subsidiary, and other than Jeffrey H. Smulyan or an Affiliate of Mr. Smulyan) becomes after the Effective Date the beneficial owner of 25% or more of either the then outstanding Stock or the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote in the election of directors, except that (A) no such person or group shall be deemed to own beneficially any securities acquired directly from the Company pursuant to a written agreement with the Company unless such person or group subsequently becomes the beneficial owner of additional Stock or voting securities of the Company other than pursuant to a written agreement with the Company, and (B) no Change in Control shall be deemed to have occurred solely by reason of any such acquisition by a corporation with respect to which, after such acquisition, more than 60% of both the then outstanding common shares of such corporation and the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of such corporation entitled to vote in the election of directors are then beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by the persons who were the beneficial owners of the Stock and voting securities of the Company immediately before such acquisition in substantially the same proportion as their ownership, immediately before such acquisition, of the outstanding Stock and the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company entitled to vote in the election of directors; (ii) individuals who, as of the Effective Date, constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Directors”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board; provided that any individual who becomes a director after the Effective Date whose election, or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders, was approved by a vote or written consent of at least two-thirds of the directors then comprising the Incumbent Directors shall be considered as though such individual were an Incumbent Director, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened election contest relating to the election of the directors of the Company (as such terms are used in Rule 14a-11 under the Exchange Act); (iii) approval by the shareholders of the Company of (A) a merger, reorganization or consolidation with respect to which the individuals and entities who were the respective beneficial owners of the Stock and voting securities of the Company immediately before such merger, reorganization or consolidation do not, after such merger, reorganization or consolidation, beneficially own, directly or indirectly, more than 60% of, respectively, the then outstanding common

 


 

shares and the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote in the election of directors of the corporation resulting from such merger, reorganization or consolidation, (B) a liquidation or dissolution of the Company or (C) the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company; or (iv) such other event(s) or circumstance(s) as are determined by the Committee to constitute a Change in Control. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this definition, a Change in Control of the Company shall be deemed not to have occurred with respect to any Grantee, if such Grantee is, by written agreement executed prior to such Change in Control, a participant on such Grantee’s own behalf in a transaction in which the persons (or their Affiliates) with whom such Grantee has the written agreement Acquire the Company (as defined below) and, pursuant to the written agreement, the Grantee has an equity interest in the resulting entity or a right to acquire such an equity interest.

          For the purposes of this definition, “Acquire the Company” means the acquisition of beneficial ownership by purchase, merger, or otherwise, of either more than 50% of the Stock (such percentage to be computed in accordance with Rule 13d-3(d)(1)(i) of the SEC under the Exchange Act) or substantially all of the assets of the Company or its successors; “person” means such term as used in Rule 13d-5 of the SEC under the Exchange Act; “beneficial owner” means such term as defined in Rule 13d-3 of the SEC under the Exchange Act; and “group” means such term as defined in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act.

          “Class A Common Stock” means the Class A Common Stock of the Company, par value $.01 per share.

          “Class B Common Stock” means the Class B Common Stock of the Company, par value $.01 per share.

          “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and regulations and rulings thereunder. References to a particular section of the Code shall include references to successor provisions.

          “Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board or such other committee or subcommittee appointed by the Board or the Compensation Committee.

          “Company” means Emmis Communications Corporation, an Indiana corporation.

          “Disability” means, with respect to the exercise of an incentive stock option after Termination of Employment, a disability within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, and for all other purposes, a mental or physical condition which, in the opinion of the Committee, renders a Grantee unable or incompetent to carry out the job responsibilities which such Grantee held or the tasks to which such Grantee was assigned at the time disability was incurred, and which is expected to be permanent or for an indefinite duration.

          “Effective Date” means June 30, 2004.

          “Eligible Transferee” has the meaning specified in Section 12(b).

          “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. References to a particular section of, or rule under, the Exchange Act shall include references to successor provisions.

          “Fair Market Value” of any security of the Company means, as of any applicable date: (i) if the security is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or on the NASDAQ Stock Market, the average of the highest and lowest trading prices of the security as reported by such exchange or market on such date, or if no reported sales occurred on such date, on the first preceding date on which a reported sale of the security shall have occurred, or (ii) if the security is not listed for trading on a national securities exchange or on the NASDAQ Stock Market, the fair market value of the security as determined by the Committee using the reasonable application of a reasonable valuation method.

          “Family Member” of a Grantee means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law of the Grantee, including adoptive relationships, any person sharing the Grantee’s household (other than a tenant or employee), a trust in which these persons have more than fifty percent (50%) of the beneficial

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interest, a foundation in which these persons (or the Grantee) control the management of assets, and any other entity in which these persons (or the Grantee) own more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting interests.

          “Grant Date” means the date of grant of an Award determined in accordance with Section 6.

          “Grantee” means an individual or Personal Service Corporation that has been granted an Award.

          “Incentive Stock Option” means an Award under Section 7(b).

          “including” means “including, without limitation.”

          “Measuring Period” has the meaning specified in Section 10(a)(i)(B).

          “Option” means an Award under Section 7.

          “Option Price” means the per share purchase price of (i) Stock subject to an Option or (ii) Restricted Stock subject to an Option.

          “Parent” means any corporation, partnership or limited liability company (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain of corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies ending with the Company, if at the time of the granting of an Award under the Plan, each of such corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies other than the Company owns stock, general partnership interests or membership interests, as the case may be, possessing a majority of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock, general partnership interests or membership interests, as the case may be (whether at all times or only so long as no senior class of securities has such voting power by reason of any contingency), in one of the other corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies in such chain.

          “Performance Goals” has the meaning specified in Section 10(a)(i).

          “Performance Percentage” has the meaning specified in Section 10(a)(i)(C).

          “Performance Units” means units established by the Committee for purposes of granting an Award under Section 10.

          “Personal Services Contract” means any written contract or agreement pursuant to which a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity is to provide to the Company or a Subsidiary the services of one or more individuals.

          “Personal Service Corporation” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity that has a Personal Services Contract in effect.

          “Plan” means the Emmis Communications Corporation 2004 Equity Compensation Plan.

          “Prior Plans” means the Emmis Communications Corporation 1999 Equity Incentive Plan, the Emmis Communications Corporation 2001 Equity Incentive Plan and the Emmis Communications Corporation 2002 Equity Compensation Plan.

          “Restricted Stock” means Stock awarded pursuant to Section 8.

          “SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

          “Stock” means the Class A Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock.

          “Stock Appreciation Rights” means Awards under Section 9.

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          “Subsidiary” means any corporation, partnership or limited liability company (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain of corporations beginning with the Company if, at the time of the granting of an Award under the Plan, each of the corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies other than the last corporation, partnership or limited liability company in the unbroken chain owns stock, general partnership interests or membership interests, as the case may be, possessing a majority of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock, general partnership interests or membership interests, as the case may be (whether at all times or only so long as no senior class of securities has such voting power by reason of any contingency), in one of the other corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies in such chain.

          “Termination of Employment” means a cessation of a business relationship with the Company or its Subsidiaries which occurs (a) with respect to an employee of the Company or a Subsidiary, the first day an individual is for any reason entitled to severance payments under the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s personnel policies or is no longer employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or, with respect to an individual who is an employee of a corporation constituting a Subsidiary, the first day such corporation is no longer a Subsidiary, (b) with respect to a director of the Company, the first day he or she ceases to be a director of the Company, (c) with respect to an independent contractor of the Company or a Subsidiary, the first day the independent contractor is no longer providing, and is not expected by the Company to provide, services to the Company or a subsidiary, or, (d) with respect to a Personal Service Corporation, the first day after the Personal Service Contract has expired or terminated and is not expected by the Company to be extended or renewed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Termination of Employment pursuant to any of clauses (a) through (d) shall not be deemed to occur with respect to any Options that are vested on the date on which a Termination of Employment would otherwise be deemed to have occurred so long as a Grantee continues to provide services to the Company or a Subsidiary in one or more of the capacities specified in clauses (a) through (d) above.

      3. Scope of the Plan.

     (a)  Number of Shares. Subject to Section 3(c), an aggregate of four million (4,000,000) shares of Stock plus the number of shares of Stock described in Section 3(d) is hereby made available and is reserved for delivery, of which not more than one half of such shares of Stock may be delivered on account of the grant of Restricted Stock or the Award of Performance Units that are paid in shares of Stock (not including for this limitation shares of Restricted Stock issued in lieu of cash compensation under a stock compensation-type program). Subject to the foregoing limit, shares of Stock held as treasury shares may also be used for or in connection with Awards. No more than one million (1,000,000) shares of Class B common stock shall be available for grant and issuance under the Plan from the four million (4,000,000) additional shares of stock authorized for delivery under the Plan. Awards of or pertaining to shares of Class B Common Stock may be granted only to Jeffrey H. Smulyan or an Affiliate of Smulyan (as defined in the Company’s Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended from time to time). Issuance of either Class A Common Stock or Class B Common Stock as or pursuant to an Award shall reduce the shares available for grant and issuance under the Plan.

     (b)  Limit on Awards. Subject to Section 3(a) as to the maximum number of shares of Stock available for delivery in connection with Awards and Sections 3(c) and 26, the maximum number of Awards that may be granted to each Grantee in each calendar year during any part of which the Plan is in effect shall be as follows:

 

(i)

 

With respect to Stock subject to Options, 300,000 shares;

 

 

 

 

 

(ii)

 

With respect to Stock subject to Stock Appreciation Rights, 300,000 shares;

 

 

 

 

 

(iii)

 

With respect to Restricted Stock (other than Restricted Stock issued in payment of an Award of Performance Units or issued in lieu of cash compensation under a stock compensation-type program), that number of shares of Stock whose value equals the lesser of (A) 500% of such Grantee’s base salary and bonus for such year or (B) $5,000,000 (based on the Fair Market Value of Stock on the date the award is granted, not the date the Award vests or is paid);

 

 

 

 

 

(iv)

 

With respect to Awards of Performance Units, that number of shares of Stock whose value equals the lesser of (A) 500% of such Grantee’s base salary and bonus for such year or (B) $5,000,000 (based on

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the Fair Market Value of Stock on the date the Award is granted, not the date the Award is earned or paid).

     (c)  Re-Use of Shares. If and to the extent an Award or any portion thereof shall expire or terminate for any reason without having been exercised in full or shall be forfeited, or if shares are used as Performance Units but paid in cash, shares of Stock available for such Award or any portion thereof (including restricted stock) and stock appreciation rights associated with such Award shall become available for other Awards. If a Grantee pays all or part of the exercise price or tax withholding, if any, associated with an Award by the transfer of Stock or the withholding or surrender (including by attestation) of all or part of an Award (including the Award being exercised), such Stock will also be available for grant under this Plan, without reducing the number of shares of Stock available in any calendar year for grant of Awards.

     (d)  Addition of Stock from Prior Plans. In addition to the shares of Stock reserved for issuance under Section 3(a), the number of shares of Stock which were reserved for issuance under any of the Prior Plans but which are not subject to any outstanding awards under such plan as of the Effective Date shall be available for issuance under Awards granted under this Plan. Further, after the Effective Date, if any shares of Stock subject to awards granted under any Prior Plan would again become available for new grants under the terms of such plan if such plan were still in effect, then those shares of Stock will be available for the purpose of granting Awards under this Plan, thereby increasing the number of shares of Stock available for issuance under this Plan as determined under the first sentence of Section 3(a). Any such shares of Stock will not be available for future awards under the terms of the Prior Plans. If this Plan is approved or ratified by the shareholders of the Company in accordance with Section 26, the Prior Plans are terminated as of the Effective Date for purposes of granting additional awards, although awards outstanding under such Prior Plans remain in effect in accordance with such Prior Plans and any applicable award agreements.

      4. Administration.

     (a)  General . The Plan shall be administered by the Committee, which shall consist of persons who are appointed by the Board. Notwithstanding the requirements contained in the immediately preceding sentence, the Board or the Committee may, in its discretion, delegate to a committee or subcommittee of the Board or the Committee any or all of the authority and responsibility of the Committee. Such other committee or subcommittee may consist of two or more directors who may, but need not, be officers or employees of the Company or of any of its Subsidiaries. To the extent that the Board or the Committee has delegated to such other committee or subcommittee the authority and responsibility of the Committee pursuant to the foregoing, all references to the Committee in the Plan shall be to such other committee or subcommittee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board shall at all times have the right to make Awards, administer the Plan, and otherwise exercise the authority of the Committee under the Plan, and to the extent the Board does so, references to the Committee in the Plan shall be to the Board.

     (b)  Authority of the Committee . The Committee shall have full power and final authority, in its discretion, but subject to the express provisions of the Plan, as follows: (i) to select Grantees, (ii) to grant Awards, (iii) to determine (A) when Awards may be granted, (B) whether or not specific Stock Appreciation Rights shall be identified with a specific Option, specific shares of Restricted Stock, or specific Performance Units and, if so, whether they shall be exercisable cumulatively with, or alternatively to, such Option, shares of Restricted Stock, or Performance Units, and (C) whether or not specific Performance Units shall be identified with a specific Option, specific shares of Restricted Stock, or specific Stock Appreciation Rights under the Plan or any Prior Plan and, if so, whether they shall be exercisable cumulatively with, or alternatively to, such Option, shares of Restricted Stock, or Stock Appreciation Rights, (iv) to interpret the Plan and to make all determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan, (v) to prescribe, amend, and rescind rules relating to the Plan, including rules with respect to the exercisability and nonforfeitability of Awards upon the Termination of Employment of a Grantee, (vi) to determine the terms and provisions of any written agreement by which an Award may be granted (“Award Agreements”) and, to modify any such Award Agreement at any time, with the consent of the Grantee when required, (vii) to accelerate the exercisability of, and to accelerate or waive any or all of the restrictions and conditions applicable to, any Award, (viii) to make such adjustments or modifications to Awards to Grantees working outside the United States as are necessary and advisable to fulfill the purposes of the Plan, (ix) to impose such additional conditions, restrictions, and limitations upon the grant, exercise or retention of Awards as the

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Committee may, before or concurrently with the grant thereof, deem appropriate, including requiring simultaneous exercise of related identified Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, and Performance Units and limiting the percentage of Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, and Performance Units which may from time to time be exercised by a Grantee, and (x) to require Awards to be transferred to a non-grantor trust for the benefit of the Grantee.

     (c)  Determinations of the Committee; No Liability . The determination of the Committee on all matters relating to the Plan or any Award Agreement shall be conclusive and final. No member of the Committee shall be liable for any action or determination made in good faith with respect to the Plan or any Award.

      5. Eligibility . Awards may be granted to or for the benefit of any current or former employee, officer, director, Personal Service Corporation, or independent contractor of the Company or its Subsidiaries; provided, however, that Awards of Options, Restricted Stock, or Stock Appreciation Rights may only be granted to persons with respect to whom the Company is an “eligible issuer” as defined in Treas. Reg. §1.409A-1(b)(5)(iii)(E). In selecting the Grantees to whom Awards may be granted, as well as in determining the number of shares of Stock subject to and the other terms and conditions applicable to each Award, the Committee shall take into consideration such factors as it deems relevant in promoting the purposes of the Plan.

      6. General Terms and Conditions of Grants .

     (a)  Grant Date . The Grant Date of an Award shall be the date on which the Committee grants the Award.

     (b)  Maximum Term . The term of each Award (subject to Section 7(b) with respect to Incentive Stock Options) shall be a period of not more than ten (10) years from the Grant Date, and shall be subject to earlier termination as herein provided.

     (c)  Tandem Awards . A Grantee may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional Awards in any combination.

      7. Options.

     (a)  Grant of Options and Option Price . The Committee may grant an Option containing such terms, conditions and restrictions as the Committee deems appropriate; provided, however, that the Option Price of any Option shall not be less than the Fair Market Value of the Stock on the Grant Date.

     (b)  Grant of Incentive Stock Options . Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee may designate that an Option shall be made subject to restrictions that permit it to qualify as an “incentive stock option” under the requirements of Section 422 of the Code. Notwithstanding the foregoing and Section 4(b)(vi), the Committee may, without the consent of the Grantee, at any time before the exercise of an Option (whether or not an Incentive Stock Option), take any action necessary to prevent such option from being treated as an Incentive Stock Option.

     (c)  Exercise of Options . Each Option shall be exercised, in whole or in part, by delivery to the Company of written notice of intent to purchase a specific number of shares of Stock subject to the Option. The Option Price of any shares of Stock or shares of restricted stock as to which an Option shall be exercised shall be paid in full at the time of the exercise. Payment may, at the election of the Grantee, be made in any one or any combination of the following: (i) cash; (ii) shares of Stock that have been held by the Grantee for at least six months, each valued at the Fair Market Value on the date of exercise (including through an attestation procedure); (iii) with the approval of the Committee, shares of restricted stock that have been held by the Grantee for at least six months, each valued at the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the date of exercise; (iv) by waiver of compensation due or accrued to the Grantee for services rendered; (v) with the consent of the Committee, by tender of property; (vi) provided that a public market for the Stock exists: (A) through a “same day sale” commitment from the Grantee and a broker-dealer that is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers (an “NASD Dealer”) whereby the Grantee irrevocably elects to exercise the Option and to sel


 
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