Exhibit 4.5
PARTNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY LTD.
2004 SHARE OPTION PLAN
as adopted on 12 July 2004, amended on 26 March
2008 by the Board of Directors and
approved by the shareholders on 25 June 2008
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This Partner
Communications Company Ltd. 2004 Share Option Plan, as amended from
time to time, (the “ Plan ”) is intended
to promote the interests of Partner Communications Company Ltd.
(the “ Company ”) and its shareholders by
providing employees, directors and officers, and advisors of the
Company with appropriate incentives and rewards to encourage them
to enter into and continue in the employ of, or service to, the
Company and to acquire a proprietary interest in the long-term
success of the Company. The Plan is designed to enable employees,
directors and officers of the Company to benefit from the
provisions of Section 102 of the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance [New
Version], 1961, as amended, and any regulations, rules, orders or
procedures promulgated thereunder.
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As used in the
Plan, the following definitions shall apply to the terms indicated
below:
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"Affiliate"
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means any
"employing company" within the meaning of Section 102(a) of the
Ordinance.
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"Approved
102 Option"
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means an Option
granted pursuant to Section 102(b) of the Ordinance and held in
trust by a Trustee for the benefit of the Participant.
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"Capital
Gain Option (CGO)"
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means an
Approved 102 Option elected and designated by the Company to
qualify under the capital gain tax treatment in accordance with the
provisions of Section 102(b)(2) of the Ordinance.
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"Cashless
Options"
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shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 8.6.
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"Cause"
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when used in
connection with the termination of a Participant's employment or
service by the Company, shall mean (a) the willful and continued
failure by the Participant to perform his duties (including the
duty of care and the fiduciary duty as set forth in the Companies
Law) and obligations to the Company (other than any such failure
resulting from Retirement or Disability, as hereinafter defined or
any such failure approved by the Company, subject to applicable
law) or (b) the willful engaging by the Participant in misconduct
which is injurious to the Company, provided, however, that in
relation to employees or officers of the Company, in each case the
actions or omissions of the Participant are sufficient to deny the
Participant severance payment under the Severance Payment Law,
1963.
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"Commencement Date"
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with respect to
the vesting schedule of an Option, shall be the Grant Date, unless
another date for the commencement of the vesting schedule with
respect to such Option has been set by the Committee and written in
the Grant Instrument.
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"Committee"
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shall mean the
Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company, as
set forth in Section 5 below.
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"Companies
Law"
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shall mean the
Israeli Companies Law, 1999, as may be amended from time to
time.
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"Company"
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shall mean
Partner Communications Company Ltd., a company incorporated under
the laws of the State of Israel.
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"Designated
Beneficiary"
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of a
Participant, shall mean the beneficiary designated by such
Participant or deemed as such Participant's Designated Beneficiary
pursuant to Section 26 hereto, upon the death of the
Participant.
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"Disability"
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shall mean any
physical or mental condition, which is recognized as a disability
pursuant to the employment practices adopted by the Company and
prevents the Participant from continuing to work in his position or
in a comparable one in the Company or prevents the Participant from
continuing to provide services to the Company. Determination of a
Disability shall be made in consultation with a physician selected
by the Committee and shall be finally and conclusively determined
by the Committee in its absolute discretion.
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"Effective
Date"
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means 12 July
2004 the date on which the Board of Directors of the Company first
approved the Plan.
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"Employee"
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means a person
who is employed by the Company or its Affiliates, including an
individual who is serving as a director or an office holder, all as
defined in section 102.
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"Exercise
Period"
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shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 8.3 below.
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"Grant
Date"
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of an Option
means the date on which the Committee resolves to grant such
Option, unless another date is specified by the Committee, provided
that, if further approvals are required for the granting of an
Option, the Grant Date shall mean the date that the last required
approval for the grant of such Option shall have been
obtained.
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"Grant
Instrument"
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shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 7.2 below.
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"ITA"
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means the
Israeli Tax Authorities.
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"Non-Employee"
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means a person
who is not an Employee of the Company or its Affiliates.
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"Option"
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shall mean an
option to purchase one or more Ordinary Shares granted pursuant to
this Plan.
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"Option
Exercise Price"
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shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 8.1 below.
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"Ordinary
Income Option (OIO)"
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means an
Approved 102 Option elected and designated by the Company to
qualify under the ordinary income tax treatment in accordance with
the provisions of Section 102(b)(1) of the Ordinance.
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"102
Option"
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means any
Option granted to Employees pursuant to Section 102 of the
Ordinance.
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"3(i)
Option"
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means an Option
granted pursuant to Section 3(i) of the Ordinance to any person who
is a Non-Employee.
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"Ordinary
Shares"
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shall mean
ordinary shares of the Company, par value NIS 0.01 each.
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"Participant"
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shall mean an
Employee or a Non-Employee to whom an Option is granted pursuant to
the Plan, and, upon his death or legal incapacity, his successors,
heirs, executors and administrators, as the case may be.
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"Plan"
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shall mean this
Partner Communications Company Ltd. 2004 Share Option Plan, as
amended from time to time.
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"Retirement"
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shall mean the
termination of a Participant's employment with or service to the
Company as a result of his reaching the earlier of (a) the legal
age for retirement and (b) the age for retirement identified in his
employment or service agreement.
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"Section
3(i)"
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means Section
3(i) of the Ordinance and any regulations, rules, orders or
procedures promulgated thereunder as now in effect or as hereafter
amended.
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"Section
102"
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means section
102 of the Ordinance and any regulations, rules, orders or
procedures promulgated thereunder as now in effect or as hereafter
amended.
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"Section 102
Rules"
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means the
Income Tax Rules (Tax Relief for Issuance of Shares to Employees),
2003.
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"Tax
Ordinance" or "Ordinance"
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shall mean the
Israeli Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], 1961, as amended, and
any regulations, rules, orders or procedures promulgated
thereunder.
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"Trustee"
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means any
individual appointed by the Company to serve as a trustee and
approved by the ITA, all in accordance with the provisions of
Section 102(a) of the Ordinance.
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"Termination
Date"
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means close of
business of the Company on the date which falls ten (10) years
after the Effective Date.
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"Unapproved
102 Option"
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means an Option
granted pursuant to Section 102(c) of the Ordinance and not held in
trust by a Trustee.
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3.
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Shares
Subject to the Plan
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3.1.
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Shares
Available for Options . On the Effective Date, the total number
of authorized and unissued Ordinary Shares reserved for issuance
upon exercise of all Options granted under the Plan was not to
exceed 5,775,000 Ordinary Shares, which represented approximately
3.15% of the total issued share capital of the Company as at the
Effective Date. Conditional upon applicable approvals having been
obtained, the aforesaid limit shall be increased by 8,142,000
Ordinary Shares to not exceeding a total of 13,917,000 Ordinary
Shares which represents approximately 8.84% of the total issued
share capital of the Company as of 31 March 2008. The total number
of Ordinary Shares reserved for issuance under the Plan shall be
subject to adjustment as required for the implementation of the
provisions of the Plan, in accordance with Section 3.2 below.
In the event an Option granted to any Participant expires or
otherwise terminates hereunder, shares reserved for issuance upon
the exercise of such Option shall become available for issuance
upon the exercise of any other Options which the Company may grant
under the Plan.
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3.2.
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Adjustments . Upon the occurrence of any of the following
events, a Participant’s rights under any Option granted
hereunder shall be adjusted as hereinafter provided:
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3.2.1.
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In the event
the Ordinary Shares shall be subdivided or combined into a greater
or smaller number of shares or if, upon a merger, consolidation,
reorganization, recapitalization or similar event or transaction
whilst any Option remains exercisable or this Plan remains in
effect, the Ordinary Shares shall be exchanged for other securities
of the Company or of another corporation, each Participant shall be
entitled, upon exercising a vested Option and subject to the
conditions herein stated, to be issued in respect of the Option,
such number of Ordinary Shares or amount of other securities of the
Company or such other corporation as were exchangeable for the
number of Ordinary Shares which such Participant would have been
entitled to purchase had such event or events not occurred, and
appropriate adjustments shall be made in the exercise price per
share to reflect such subdivision, combination or exchange, so that
Participants are not materially better or worse off as a result of
the relevant event and provided that any such adjustment shall give
the Participant the same proportion of the issued share capital of
the Company for which such Participant would have been entitled to
subscribe had he exercised all the Options held by him immediately
prior to such adjustment and that such adjustment shall be made on
the basis that the aggregate exercise price per share payable by
the Participant on the full exercise of any Option shall remain as
nearly as possible the same (but not greater than) as it was before
such event. No such adjustment shall be made the effect of which
would be to enable an Ordinary Share to be issued at less than its
nominal value.
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3.2.2.
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In the event
the Company shall issue any of its shares or other securities as
bonus shares upon or with respect to its Ordinary Shares, each
Participant upon exercising such Option shall be issued by the
Company (for the exercise price payable upon such exercise), the
Ordinary Shares as to which he is exercising his Option and, in
addition thereto (at no additional cost), such number of shares
(rounded down to the nearest whole number) of the class or classes
in which such bonus shares were distributed which he would have
received if he had been the holder of the Ordinary Shares as to
which he is exercising his Option at all times between the date of
issuance of such Option on behalf of a Participant in the name of
the Trustee and the date of its exercise.
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3.2.3.
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Upon the
occurrence of any of the foregoing events, the class and aggregate
number of shares issuable pursuant to the Plan (as set forth in
Section 3.1 hereof), in respect of which Options have not yet been
granted, shall also be appropriately adjusted, to the extent
necessary, to reflect the events specified in Subsections 3.2.1 and
3.2.2 above.
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3.2.4.
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If there has
been any alteration in the capital structure of the Company as
referred to in this Section 3.2, the Company shall, upon receipt of
a Notice of Exercise (pursuant to Section 8.5 below) inform the
Participant of such alteration and shall inform the Participant of
the adjustment to be made.
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3.2.5.
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The Committee
shall determine the specific adjustments to be made in accordance
with this Section 3 and the rules and regulations of any stock
exchange applicable from time to time to the Company, by reason of
their applicability to its shareholders or otherwise. A
determination made in accordance with this Section 3.2.5 shall be
conclusive.
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4.1.
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The maximum
number of Options which may be issued and allotted and which may be
required to be issued and allotted upon the exercise of Options to
each Participant under this Plan in any 12-month period shall not
exceed 1% of the total issued share capital of the Company as
measured at the Grant Date of Options or further Options to such
Participant. The eligibility of any person shall be determined from
time to time on the basis of his contribution to the development of
the Company.
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4.2.
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The persons
eligible for participation in the Plan as Participants shall
include any Employees or Non-Employees of the Company or of any
Affiliate; provided, however, that (i) Employees may only be
granted 102 Options and (ii) Non-Employees may only be granted 3(i)
Options.
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4.3.
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The Company may
designate Options granted to Employees pursuant to Section 102 as
Unapproved 102 Options or Approved 102 Options.
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4.4.
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The grant of
Approved 102 Options shall be made under this Plan adopted by the
Board, and shall be conditioned upon the approval of this Plan by
the ITA.
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4.5.
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Approved 102
Options may either be classified as Capital Gain Options (“
CGOs ”) or Ordinary Income Options (“
OIOs ”).
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4.6.
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No Approved 102
Options may be granted under this Plan to any eligible Employee,
unless and until, the Company’s election of the type of
Approved 102 Options as CGO or OIO granted to Employees (the
“ Election ”), is appropriately filed with the
ITA. Such Election shall become effective beginning on the first
Grant Date of an Approved 102 Option under this Plan and shall
remain in effect at least until the end of the year following the
year during which the Company first granted Approved 102 Options
(under this Plan or previous plans). The Election shall obligate
the Company to grant only the type of Approved 102 Option it
has elected, and shall apply to all Participants who were granted
Approved 102 Options during the period indicated herein, all in
accordance with the provisions of Section 102(g) of the Ordinance.
For the avoidance of doubt, such Election shall not prevent the
Company from granting Unapproved 102 Options
simultaneously.
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4.7.
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All Approved
102 Options must be held in trust by a Trustee, as described in
Section 11 below.
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4.8.
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For the
avoidance of doubt, the designation of Unapproved 102 Options and
Approved 102 Options shall be subject to the terms and conditions
set forth in Section 102.
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5.
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Administration of the Plan
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5.1.
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Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the
Compensation Committee, which has been appointed by and serves at
the direction of the Board of Directors of the Company. The Board
of Directors may from time to time remove members from, or add
members to, the Committee, and may fill vacancies in the Committee
however caused.
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5.2.
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Committee
Actions. The Committee
has selected one of its members as its Chairman and holds its
meetings at such times and places, as it determines. Actions at a
meeting of the Committee at which a majority of its members are
present, or acts reduced to or approved in writing by all members
of the Committee, are the valid acts of the Committee. The
Committee keeps records of its meetings and makes such rules and
regulations for the conduct of its business, as it deems
advisable.
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5.3.
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Authority of
Committee. The Committee
has the authority, in its sole discretion, subject to the approval
of the Board of Directors – if such approval is required
under the Companies Law – and subject to any applicable law
and regulations and not inconsistent with the express provisions of
the Plan, to administer the Plan and to exercise all the powers and
authorities either specifically granted to it under the Plan or
necessary or advisable in the administration of the Plan including,
without limitation, the authority in its discretion to determine
the persons to whom Options are granted, the number of shares
covered by each Option, the time or times at which Options are
granted, the Commencement Date and the Option Exercise Price, and
any other terms to be included in the Grant Instrument which are
permitted by the Plan. The Committee also has the power and
authority to determine whether, to what extent, and under what
circumstances an Option may be settled, canceled, forfeited,
exchanged, or surrendered; to construe and interpret the Plan and
any Grant Instrument and Option; and to make all other
determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration
of the Plan.
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5.4.
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Interpretation and Construction.
The interpretation and construction
by the Committee of any provision of the Plan or of any Grant
Instrument or Option thereunder shall be final and conclusive,
unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors of the
Company.
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5.5.
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Acceleration
and Other Amendments. Save and except for the occurrence of events
specified in Section 6 below whereupon the Committee shall comply
with the provisions therein, the Committee may, in its sole and
absolute discretion, accelerate the date on which any Option
granted under the Plan becomes exercisable, waive or amend the
operation of Plan provisions respecting exercise after termination
of employment or otherwise amend any of the terms of any Grant
Instrument or Option, subject to the provisions of the Tax
Ordinance, provided, however, that no such waiver or amendment
shall adversely affect any Participant’s rights under any
outstanding Grant Instrument or Option under the Plan without the
consent of such Participant.
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6.
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Acceleration in the Event of a Change in
Control; Winding Up
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6.1.
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Acceleration
in the Event of Change in Control. In the event that within six months after a
Change in Control of the Company a Participant’s employment
with or service to the Company is terminated by or a Participant
receives a notice of termination from the Company for any reason
(other than termination for Cause), the Options granted to such
Participant whether vested or not shall be automatically and
immediately accelerated so that all such Options shall become
vested and exercisable within thirty (30) days after the date of
termination of employment or service.
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All outstanding
Options so vested in the manner as aforesaid which are not
exercised within the thirty (30) days after the date of termination
of employment or service shall terminate and cease to be
outstanding upon the expiry of the aforesaid thirty-day
period.
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For the purpose
of this Section 6.1, “Change in Control” shall
mean:
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(i)
the acquisition which results in holding, directly or indirectly,
of (a) the power to control at least 50% of the Company’s
share capital; or (b) the power (exercisable alone or together in
concert with others) to direct or cause the direction of the
management and policies of the Company, whether through the
ownership of Ordinary Shares, by law, contract or otherwise; or (c)
the power (exercisable alone or together in concert with others) to
elect or appoint at least 50% of the Board of Directors of the
Company;
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(ii) a
merger, consolidation or similar transaction (including an
arrangement) of the Company following which the Company is not a
surviving corporation;
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(iii)
a merger, consolidation or similar transaction (including an
arrangement) following which the holders of voting securities of
that other company holding, in aggregate, 50% or more of all
outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company (including a merged or
successor company) resulting from such merger, consolidation or
similar transaction; or
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(iv)
the sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of the
property of the Company, other than in the ordinary course of
business of the Company or to its subsidiary;
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Provided that
any event or transaction contemplated in sub-paragraph (i), (ii) or
(iii) shall not constitute a Change in Control for purposes of this
Plan if following such event or transaction, 50% or more of voting
securities of the Company remain held directly or indirectly by the
ultimate shareholder prior to such event or transaction (the
“UltimateShareholder ”) or any company or other
person controlled directly or indirectly in any manner
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