Exhibit 4.1
METHES ENERGIES INTERNATIONAL
LTD.
AMENDED AND
RESTATED
2008 DIRECTORS, OFFICERS
AND EMPLOYEES STOCK OPTION PLAN
1.
Purpose . This Amended and
Restated 2008 Directors, Officers and Employees Stock Option Plan
amends the Plan that was adopted by the Board of Directors in
December, 2007. The purpose of this Amended and Restated
2008 Directors, Officers and Employees Stock Option Plan (the
“Plan”) is to enable Methes Energies International Ltd.
(the “Company”) to attract and retain the services of
highly qualified and experienced directors, officers, employees,
and consultants and to give such persons an interest in the success
of the Company and its subsidiaries. For purposes of
this Plan, a person is considered to be employed by or in the
service of the Company if the person is employed by or in the
service of any entity (the “Employer”) that is either
the Company or a parent or subsidiary of the Company.
2.
Shares Subject to the Plan
. Subject to adjustment as provided below and in
Section 9, the shares to be offered under the Plan shall
consist of voting Common Stock of the Company, and the total number
of shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the Plan shall
be 1,500,000 shares. If an option or Performance-Based
Award granted under the Plan expires, terminates or is canceled,
the unissued shares subject to that option or Performance-Based
Award shall again be available under the Plan. If shares
awarded as a bonus pursuant to Section 7 or sold pursuant to
Section 8 under the Plan are forfeited to or repurchased by
the Company, the number of shares forfeited or repurchased shall
again be available under the Plan.
3.
Effective Date and Duration of Plan
.
3.1
Effective Date . The Plan shall become
effective as of July 23, 2008. No Incentive Stock Option
(as defined in Section 5 below) granted under the Plan shall
become exercisable and no payments shall be made under a
Performance-Based Award, however, until the Plan is approved by the
affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of
Common Stock represented at a shareholders meeting at which a
quorum is present or by means of unanimous consent resolutions, and
the exercise of any Incentive Stock Options granted under the Plan
before approval shall be conditioned on and subject to that
approval. Subject to this limitation, options and
Performance-Based Award may be granted and shares may be awarded as
bonuses or sold under the Plan at any time after the effective date
and before termination of the Plan.
3.2
Duration . The Plan shall continue in
effect until all shares available for issuance under the Plan have
been issued and all restrictions on the shares have
lapsed. The Board of Directors may suspend or terminate
the Plan at any time except with respect to options, or
Performance-Based Awards and shares subject to restrictions then
outstanding under the Plan. Termination shall not affect
any outstanding options, any outstanding Performance-Based Awards
or any right of the Company to repurchase shares or the
forfeitability of shares issued under the Plan.
4.
Administration .
4.1
Board of Directors . The Plan shall be
administered by the Board of Directors of the Company, which shall
determine and designate the individuals to whom awards shall be
made, the amount of the awards and the other terms and conditions
of the awards. Subject to the provisions of the Plan,
the Board of Directors may adopt and amend rules and regulations
relating to administration of the Plan, advance the lapse of any
waiting period, accelerate any exercise date, waive or modify any
restriction applicable to shares (except those restrictions imposed
by law) and make all other determinations in the judgment of the
Board of Directors necessary or desirable for the administration of
the Plan. The interpretation and construction of the
provisions of the Plan and related agreements by the Board of
Directors shall be final and conclusive. The Board of
Directors may correct any defect or supply any omission or
reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or in any related agreement
in the manner and to the extent it deems expedient to carry the
Plan into effect, and the Board of Directors shall be the sole and
final judge of such expediency.
4.2
Committee . The Board of Directors may
delegate to any committee of the Board of Directors (the
“Committee”) any or all authority for administration of
the Plan. If authority is delegated to the Committee,
all references to the Board of Directors in the Plan shall mean and
relate to the Committee, except (i) as otherwise provided by the
Board of Directors and (ii) that only the Board of Directors may
amend or terminate the Plan as provided in Sections 3 and
11.
5.
Types of Awards, Eligibility, Limitations
. The Board of Directors may, from time to time, take
the following actions, separately or in combination, under the
Plan: (i) grant Incentive Stock Options, as defined in
Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
(the “Code”), as provided in Sections 6.1 and 6.2;
(ii) grant options other than Incentive Stock Options
(“Non-Statutory Stock Options”) as provided in
Sections 6.1 and 6.3; (iii) award stock bonuses as provided in
Section 7; (iv) sell shares subject to restrictions as
provided in Section 8 ; and (v) award Performance-Based Awards
as provided in Section 10. Awards may be made to
employees, including employees who are officers or directors, and
to other individuals described in Section 1 selected by the
Board of Directors; provided, however, that only employees of the
Company or any parent or subsidiary of the Company (as defined in
subsections 424(e) and 424(f) of the Code) are eligible to receive
Incentive Stock Options under the Plan. The Board of
Directors shall select the individuals to whom awards shall be made
and shall specify the action taken with respect to each individual
to whom an award is made. At the discretion of the Board
of Directors, an individual may be given an election to surrender
an award in exchange for the grant of a new award.
6.
Option Grants .
6.1
General Rules Relating to Options .
6.1-1
Terms of Grant . The Board of Directors may grant
options under the Plan. With respect to each option
grant, the Board of Directors shall determine the number of shares
subject to the option, the exercise price, the period of the
option, the time or times at which the option may be exercised and
whether the option is an Incentive Stock Option or a Non-Statutory
Stock Option. At the time of the grant of an option or
at any time thereafter, the Board of Directors may provide that an
optionee who exercised an option with Common Stock of the Company
shall automatically receive a new option to purchase additional
shares equal to the number of shares surrendered and may specify
the terms and conditions of such new options.
6.1-2
Exercise of Options . Except as provided in
Section 6.1-4 or as determined by the Board of Directors, no
option granted under the Plan may be exercised unless at the time
of exercise the optionee is employed by or in the service of the
Company and shall have been so employed or provided such service
continuously since the date the option was
granted. Except as provided in Sections 6.1-4 and
9, options granted under the Plan may be exercised from time to
time over the period stated in each option in amounts and at times
prescribed by the Board of Directors, provided that options may not
be exercised for fractional shares. Unless otherwise
determined by the Board of Directors, if an optionee does not
exercise an option in any one year for the full number of shares to
which the optionee is entitled in that year, the optionee’s
rights shall be cumulative and the optionee may purchase those
shares in any subsequent year during the term of the
option.
6.1-3
Nontransferability . Each Incentive Stock Option
and, unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, each
other option granted under the Plan by its terms (i) shall be
nonassignable and nontransferable by the optionee, either
voluntarily or by operation of law, except by will or by the laws
of descent and distribution of the state or country of the
optionee’s domicile at the time of death, and (ii) during the
optionee’s lifetime, shall be exercisable only by the
optionee.
6.1-4
Termination of Employment or Service .
(a)
General Rule . Unless otherwise determined by the
Board of Directors, if an optionee’s employment or service
with the Company terminates for any reason other than because of
total disability or death as provided in Sections 6.1-4(b) and
(c), his or her option may be exercised at any time before the
expiration date of the option or the expiration of 30 days after
the date of termination, whichever is the shorter period, but only
if and to the extent the optionee was entitled to exercise the
option at the date of termination.
(b)
Termination Because of Total Disability . Unless
otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, if an
optionee’s employment or service with the Company terminates
because of total disability, his or her option may be exercised at
any time before the expiration date of the option or before the
date 12 months after the date of termination, whichever is the
shorter period, but only if and to the extent the optionee was
entitled to exercise the option at the date of
termination. The term “total disability”
means a medically determinable mental or physical impairment that
is expected to result in death or has lasted or is expected to last
for a continuous period of 12 months or more and that, in the
opinion of the Company and two independent physicians, causes the
optionee to be unable to perform his or her duties as an employee,
director, officer or consultant of the Employer and unable to be
engaged in any substantial gainful activity. Total
disability shall be deemed to have occurred on the first day after
the two independent physicians have furnished their written opinion
of total disability to the Company and the Company has reached an
opinion of total disability.
(c)
Termination Because of Death . Unless otherwise
determined by the Board of Directors, if an optionee dies while
employed by or providing service to the Company, his or her option
may be exercised at any time before the expiration date of the
option or before the date 12 months after the date of death,
whichever is the shorter period, but only if and to the extent the
optionee was entitled to exercise the option at the date of death
and only by the person or persons to whom the optionee’s
rights under the option shall pass by the optionee’s will or
by the laws of descent and distribution of the state or country of
domicile at the time of death.
(d)
Amendment of Exercise Period Applicable to Termination
. The Board of Directors may at any time extend the
30-day and 12-month exercise periods any length of time not longer
than the original expiration date of the option. The
Board of Directors may at any time increase the portion of an
option that is exercisable, subject to terms and conditions
determined by the Board of Directors.
(e)
Failure to Exercise Option . To the extent that
the option of any deceased optionee or any optionee whose
employment or service terminates is not exercised within the
applicable period, all further rights to purchase shares pursuant
to the option shall cease and terminate.
(f)
Leave of Absence . Absence on leave approved by
the Employer or on account of illness or disability shall not be
deemed a termination or interruption of employment or
service. Unless otherwise determined by the Board of
Directors, vesting of options shall continue during a medical,
family or military leave of absence, whether paid or unpaid, and
vesting of options shall be suspended during any other unpaid leave
of absence.
6.1-5
Purchase of Shares .
(a)
Notice of Exercise . Unless the Board of
Directors determines otherwise, shares may be acquired pursuant to
an option granted under the Plan only upon the Company’s
receipt of written notice from the optionee of the optionee’s
binding commitment to purchase shares, specifying the number of
shares the optionee desires to purchase under the option and the
date on which the optionee agrees to complete the transaction, and,
if required to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, containing a
representation that it is the optionee’s intention to acquire
the shares for investment and not with a view to
distribution.
(b)
Payment . Unless the Board of Directors
determines otherwise, on or before the date specified for
completion of the purchase of shares pursuant to an option
exercise, the optionee must pay the Company the full purchase price
of those shares in cash or by check or, with the consent of the
Board of Directors, in whole or in part, in Common Stock of the
Company valued at fair market value, restricted stock or other
contingent awards denominated in either stock or cash, promissory
notes and other forms of consideration. Unless otherwise
determined by the Board of Directors, any Common Stock provided in
payment of the purchase price must have been previously acquired
and held by the optionee for at least six months. The fair market
value of Common Stock provided in payment of the purchase price
shall be the closing price of the Common Stock last reported before
the time payment in Common Stock is made or, if earlier, committed
to be made, if the Common Stock is publicly traded, or another
value of the Common Stock as specified by the Board of
Directors. No shares shall be issued until full payment
for the shares has been made, including all amounts owed for tax
withholding. With the consent of the Board of Directors,
an optionee may request the Company to apply automatically the
shares to be received upon the exercise of a portion of a stock
option (even though stock certificates have not yet been issued) to
satisfy the purchase price for additional portions of the
option.
(c)
Tax Withholding . Each optionee who has exercised
an option shall, immediately upon notification of the amount due,
if any, pay to the Company in cash or by check amounts necessary to
satisfy any applicable federal, state and local tax withholding
requirements. If additional withholding is or becomes
required (as a result of exercise of an option or as a result of
disposition of shares acquired pursuant to exercise of an option)
beyond any amount deposited before delivery of the certificates,
the optionee shall pay such amount, in cash or by check, to the
Company on demand. If the optionee fails to pay the
amount demanded, the Company or the Employer may withhold that
amount from other amounts payable to the optionee, including
salary, subject to applicable law. With the consent of
the Board of Directors, an optionee may satisfy this obligation, in
whole or in part, by instructing the Company to withhold from the
shares to be issued upon exercise or by delivering to the Company
other shares of Common Stock; provided, however, that the number of
shares so withheld or delivered shall not exceed the minimum amount
necessary to satisfy the required withholding
obligation.
(d)
Reduction of Reserved Shares . Upon the exercise
of an option, the number of shares reserved for issuance under the
Plan shall be reduced by the number of shares issued upon exercise
of the option (less the number of any shares surrendered in payment
for the exercise price or withheld to satisfy withholding
requirements).
6.1-6
Limitations on Grants to Non-Exempt Employees
. Unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors,
if an employee of the Company or any parent or subsidiary of the
Company is a non-exempt employee subject to the overtime
compensation provisions of Section 7 of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (the “FLSA”), any option granted to that
employee shall be subject to the following restrictions: (i) the
option price shall be at least 85 percent of the fair market value,
as described in Section 6.2-4, of the Common Stock subject to
the option on the date it is granted; and (ii) the option shall not
be exercisable until at least six months after the date it is
granted; provided, however, that this six-month restriction on
exercisability will cease to apply if the employee dies, becomes
disabled or retires, there is a change in ownership of the Company,
or in other circumstances permitted by regulation, all as
prescribed in Section 7(e)(8)(B) of the FLSA.
6.2
Incentive Stock Options . Incentive Stock
Options shall be subject to the following additional terms and
conditions:
6.2-1
Limitation on Amount of Grants . If the aggregate
fair market