Exhibit 10.1
PLURISTEM LIFE SYSTEMS,
THERAPEUTICS INC.
AMENDED AND RESTATED 2005 STOCK OPTION PLAN
*
This a A mended
and Restated 2005 Stock Option Plan (the
“Plan”) provides for the grant of Restricted
Stock, Restricted Stock Units and options to acquire
common shares (the “ of Common
Shares”) Stock in the capital of
Pluristem Life Systems, Therapeutics Inc., a
corporation formed under the laws of the State of Nevada (the
“Corporation”). Stock options
Awards granted under this Plan will
include:
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(a)
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stock options
, that qualify under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which will be
referred to in this Plan as “Incentive Stock
Options”;
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(b)
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stock options
, Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, that
qualify under Section 102 of the Israeli Tax Ordinance (New
Version) 1961, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder (the “Ordinance”), which will be referred to
in this Plan as “ Section 102 Options
Awards ”;
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(c)
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stock options
, Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, that
do not qualify under Section 422 of the Code , which will be
referred to in this Plan as “Non-Qualified Stock
Options Awards ”; and
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(d)
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Section 3(i)
Options, being stock options , Restricted Stock and Restricted
Stock Units under Section 3(i) of the Ordinance to
consultants and Controlling Shareholders that are excluded from the
term “Israeli Employee” as defined in Section 3.1
herein , which will be referred to in this Plan as
“3(i) Awards” .
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Incentive Stock Options,
Section 102 Options Awards ,
Non-Qualified Stock Options Awards and Section
3(i) Options Awards, granted under this Plan
are collectively referred to as “ Options
Awards ”.
1.1 The
purpose of this Plan is to retain the services of valued key
employees and consultants of the Corporation and such other persons
as the Plan Administrator (as hereinafter defined) shall select in
accordance with Section 3 below, and to encourage such persons to
acquire a greater proprietary interest in the Corporation, thereby
strengthening their incentive to achieve the objectives of the
shareholders of the Corporation, and to serve as an aid and
inducement in the hiring of new employees and to provide an equity
incentive to consultants and other persons selected by the Plan
Administrator.
1.2 This
Plan shall at all times be subject to all legal requirements
relating to the administration of stock option plans
Awards , if any, under applicable corporate laws,
applicable United States federal and state securities laws, the
Code, applicable Israeli tax laws, Israeli securities laws, Israeli
corporate laws, Israeli foreign exchange control laws the rules of
any applicable stock exchange or stock quotation system, and the
rules of any other foreign jurisdiction applicable to
Options Awards granted to residents therein
(collectively, the “Applicable Laws”).
* This version reflects the
changes to the Company’s 2005 Stock Option Plan in the form
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 24, 2007
as exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s current report on Form
8-K.
2.1 This
Plan shall be administered initially by the board of directors of
the Corporation (the “Board”), except that the Board
may, in its discretion, establish a committee composed of two (2)
or more members of the Board or two (2) or more other persons to
administer the Plan, which committee (the “Committee”)
may be an executive, compensation or other committee, including a
separate committee especially created for this purpose. The Board
or, if applicable, the Committee is referred to herein as the
“Plan Administrator”.
2.2 If
and so long as the shares of Common Shares is
Stock are registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”) and the Corporation wishes to grant
Incentive Stock Options, then the Board shall consider in selecting
the Plan Administrator and the membership of any Committee, with
respect to any persons subject or likely to become subject to
Section 16 of the Exchange Act, the provisions regarding (a)
“outside directors” as contemplated by Section 162(m)
of the Code, and (b) “Non-Employee Directors” as
contemplated by Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act.
2.3 The
Committee shall have the powers and authority vested in the Board
hereunder (including the power and authority to interpret any
provision of the Plan or of any Option). The members of any such
Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. A majority of
the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, and all
actions of the Committee shall be taken by a majority of the
members present. Any action may be taken by a written instrument
signed by all of the members of the Committee and any action so
taken shall be fully effective as if it had been taken at a
meeting.
2.4
Subject to the provisions of this Plan and
any Applicable Laws, and with a view to accomplishing the purpose
of the Plan, the Plan Administrator shall have sole authority, in
its absolute discretion, to:
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(a)
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construe and
interpret the terms of the Plan and any Option
Award granted pursuant to this Plan;
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(b)
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define the
terms used in the Plan;
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(c)
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prescribe,
amend and rescind the rules and regulations relating to this
Plan;
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(d)
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correct any
defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in this
Plan;
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(e)
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grant
Options Awards under this Plan, except grants
to directors, the CEO, the CFO and the CTO of the Corporation,
which will be granted by the Board as a whole if required by
Applicable Law ;
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(f)
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determine the
individuals to whom Options Awards shall be
granted under this Plan and whether the Option
Award is granted as an Incentive Stock Option,
Section 102 Option Award , a
Non-Qualified Stock Option Awards, or Section
3(i) Option Award ;
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(g)
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make an
election under Section 102(b)(1) or (2) of the
Ordinance;
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(h)
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determine the
time or times at which Options Awards shall be
granted under this Plan;
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(i)
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determine the
number of shares of Common Shares
Stock subject to each Option
Award , the exercise price of each Option
Award , the duration of each Option
Award and the times at which each Option
Award shall become vested and
exercisable;
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(j)
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determine all
other terms and conditions of the Options
Awards ; and
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(k)
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make all other
determinations and interpretations necessary and advisable for the
administration of the Plan.
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2.5 All
decisions, determinations and interpretations made by the Plan
Administrator shall be binding and conclusive on all participants
in the Plan and on their legal representatives, heirs and
beneficiaries.
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3.1
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Definitions. In
this agreement:
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“ Affiliate ”
means any “employing company” within the meaning of
Section 102(a) of the Ordinance.
“ Controlling
Shareholder ” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in
Section 32(9) of the Ordinance.”
“Israeli
Employee” means a
person who is employed by the Corporation or its Affiliates in
Israel , including an individual who is serving as a
director or an office holder, but excluding a Controlling
Shareholder.
“Related
Corporation ” means
any corporation (other than the Corporation) that is a
“Parent Corporation” of the Corporation or
“Subsidiary Corporation” of the Corporation, as those
terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and 424(f), respectively, of
the Code (or any successor provisions) and the regulations
thereunder (as amended from time to time).
3.2
Incentive Stock Options may be granted to
any individual who, at the time such Option is granted, is an
employee of the Corporation or any Related Corporation (as
hereinafter defined) (an “Employee”).
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3.3
Non-Qualified Stock Options
Awards, may be granted to Employees, and to such
other persons who are not Employees as the Plan Administrator shall
select, subject to any Applicable Laws.
3.4
Section 102 Options Awards may be
granted to Israeli Employees in accordance with Section 4
herein.
3.5
Section 3(i) Options
Awards may be granted to consultants and Controlling
Shareholders that do not qualify as Israeli Employees.
3.6
Options Awards may be granted in substitution
for outstanding Options Awards of another
corporation in connection with the merger, consolidation,
acquisition of property or stock or other reorganization between
such other corporation and the Corporation or any subsidiary of the
Corporation. Options Awards also may be
granted in exchange for outstanding Options
Awards .
3.7 Any
person to whom an Option option is granted
under this Plan is referred to as an “Optionee a
“Participant ”. Any person who is the owner of
an Option Award is referred to as a
“Holder”.
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4.
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DESIGNATION OF OPTIONS AWARDS PURSUANT TO
SECTION 102 (RELEVANT ONLY TO ISRAELI EMPLOYEES)
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4.1 The
Corporation may designate Section 102 Options
Awards granted to Israeli Employees pursuant to
Section 102 of the Ordinance as Unapproved 102 Options
Awards (means an Option granted pursuant to Section
102(c) of the Ordinance and not held in trust by a Trustee) or
Approved 102 Options Awards (means an
Option Award granted pursuant to Section
102(b) of the Ordinance and held in trust by a Trustee for the
benefit of the Optionee Participant
).
4.2 The
grant of Approved 102 Options Awards shall be
made under this Plan adopted by the Board, and shall be conditioned
upon the approval of this Plan by the Israeli Tax Authorities (the
“ ITA ”).
4.3
Approved 102 Option
Award may either be classified as Capital Gain
Option “ CGO Award (“CGA
”) or Ordinary Income Option Award
(“ OIO OIA ”).
4.4
Approved 102 Option
Award elected and designated by the Corporation to
qualify under the capital gain tax treatment in accordance with the
provisions of Section 102(b)(2) shall be referred to herein as
CGO CGA .
4.5
Approved 102 Option
Award elected and designated by the Corporation to
qualify under the ordinary income tax treatment in accordance with
the provisions of Section 102(b)(1) shall be referred to herein as
OIO OIA .
4.6 The
Corporation’s election of the type of Approved 102
Options Awards as CGO CGA
or OIO OIA granted to Employees (the “
Election ”), shall be appropriately filed with the ITA
before the Date of Grant of an Approved 102 Option
Award . Such Election shall become effective
beginning the first Date of Grant of an Approved 102 OptionAward
under this Plan and shall remain in effect at least until the end
of the year following the year during which the Corporation first
granted Approved 102 Options Awards . The
Election shall obligate the Corporation to grant only the
type of Approved 102 Option Award it has
elected, and shall apply to all Optionees
Participants who were granted Approved 102
Options Awards 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 Corporation from granting Unapproved 102 Options
Awards simultaneously.
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4.7 All
Approved 102 Options Awards must be held in
trust by a Trustee (means any entity appointed by the Corporation
to serve as a trustee and approved by the ITA, all in accordance
with the provisions of Section 102(a) of the Ordinance, as
described in Section 5 below (the “ Trustee
”)).
4.8 For
the avoidance of doubt, the designation of Unapproved 102
Options Awards and Approved 102 Options
Awards shall be subject to the terms and conditions
set forth in Section 102 of the Ordinance and the regulations
promulgated thereunder.
4.9 With
regards to Approved 102 Options Awards , the
provisions of the Plan and/or the Option Award
Agreement shall be subject to the provisions of Section 102 and the
Tax Assessing Officer’s permit, and the said provisions and
permit shall be deemed an integral part of the Plan and of the
Option Award Agreement. Any provision of
Section 102 and/or the said permit which is necessary in order to
receive and/or to keep any tax benefit pursuant to Section 102,
which is not expressly specified in the Plan or the Option
Award Agreement, shall be considered binding upon the
Corporation and the Optionees Participants
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5.1
Approved 102 Options
Awards which shall be granted under the Plan and/or
any Shares shares allocated or issued upon
exercise of such Approved 102 Options Awards
and/or other shares received subsequently following any realization
of rights, including, without limitation, bonus shares, shall be
allocated or issued to the Trustee and held for the benefit of the
Optionees Participants for such period of time
as required by Section 102 or any regulations, rules or orders or
procedures promulgated thereunder (the “ Holding
Period ”). In the case the requirements for Approved 102
Options Awards are not met, then the Approved
102 Options Awards may be treated as
Unapproved 102 Options Awards , all in
accordance with the provisions of Section 102 and regulations
promulgated thereunder.
5.2
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary,
the Trustee shall not release any Shares
shares allocated or issued upon exercise of Approved
102 Options Awards prior to the full payment
of the Optionee Participant ’s tax
liabilities arising from Approved 102 Options
Awards which were granted to him and/or any
Shares shares allocated or issued upon
exercise or vesting of such Options
Awards as the case my be .
5.3 Upon
receipt of Approved 102 Option Awards , the
Optionee will sign an undertaking to release the Trustee from any
liability in respect of any action or decision duly taken and bona
fide executed in relation with the Plan, or any Approved 102
Option Awards or Share granted to him
thereunder.
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5.4 With
respect to any Approved 102 Option Awards ,
subject to the provisions of Section 102 and any rules or
regulation or orders or procedures promulgated thereunder, an
Optionee a Participant shall not sell or release
from trust any Share Award and any share
received upon the exercise or vesting of an Approved
102 Option Award and/or any share received
subsequently following any realization of rights, including without
limitation, bonus shares, until the lapse of the Holding Period
required under Section 102 of the Ordinance. Notwithstanding the
above, if any such sale or release occurs during the Holding
Period, the sanctions under Section 102 of the Ordinance and under
any rules or regulation or orders or procedures promulgated
thereunder shall apply to and shall be borne by such
Optionee Participant.
5.5 With
respect to all Shares Awards, (but excluding,
for avoidance of any doubt, any unexercised Options
options and any unvested Restricted Stock Units )
allocated or issued upon the exercise of Options purchased by the
Optionee Participant, or issued to the Participant
pursuant to the Vesting of Restricted Stock Units, and held
by the Optionee Participant or by the Trustee,
as the case may be, the Optionee Participant
shall be entitled to receive dividends in accordance with the
quantity of such Shares shares , subject to
the provisions of the Corporation’s incorporation documents
(and all amendments thereto) and subject to any applicable taxation
on distribution of dividends, and when applicable subject to the
provisions of Section 102.
6.1 The
Plan Administrator is authorized to grant Options to acquire up
to a total of 280,000,000 Common Shares. The number of Common
Shares with respect to which Options Awards to acquire
shares of Common Stock, shares of Restricted Stock and Restricted
Stock Units in a number not exceeding 16% of the number of shares
of Common Stock of the Corporation issued and outstanding
immediately prior to the grant of such Awards on a Fully Diluted
Basis. For purposes of this Section 6.1, the term “Fully
Diluted Basis” means all issued and outstanding share capital
(where options shall be deemed outstanding share capital until
exercised) and all rights to acquire share capital including,
without limitation, all securities convertible or exercisable into
shares of Common Stock being deemed so converted and exercised, the
conversion of any convertible stockholder loans into share capital,
with all outstanding warrants, options or any other right granted
by the Corporation to receive shares of the Corporation’s
share capital being deemed exercised in full. The foregoing
notwithstanding, the maximum number of shares that may be subject
to Incentive Stock Options granted under the Plan shall be 450,000,
subject to adjustment as provided in Section 7.1(m). Shares of
Common Stock with respect to which Awards may be granted
hereunder is are subject to adjustment as set
forth in Section 7.1(m) hereof. In the event that any outstanding
Option Award expires or is terminated for any
reason, the shares Common Shares allocable to the
unexercised portion of such Option Award may
again be subject to an Option Award granted to
the same Optionee Participant or Holder or to
a different person eligible under Section 3 of this Plan ;
provided however, that any cancelled Options will be counted
against the maximum number of Common Shares with respect to which
Options may be granted to any particular person as set forth in
Section 3 hereof .
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6.2
The
maximum number of shares of Common Stock for which Options may be
granted to any person in any calendar year shall be
1,000,000.
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7.
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TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF OPTIONS AWARDS
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7.1 Each
Option Award granted under this Plan shall be
evidenced by a written agreement approved by the Plan Administrator
(each, an “Agreement”). Agreements may contain such
provisions, not inconsistent with this Plan or any Applicable Laws,
as the Plan Administrator in its discretion may deem advisable. All
Options Awards also shall comply with the
following requirements:
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(a)
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Number of
Shares shares of Common Stock underlying the
Award and Type of Option
Award.
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Each Agreement
shall state the number of shares of Common
Shares Stock to which it pertains and whether
the Option Award is intended to be an
Incentive Stock Option, Section 102 Option
Awards (CGO CGA or OIO
OIA ) or a Non-Qualified Stock Option
Awards ; provided that :
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(i)
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the number of
Common Shares that may be reserved pursuant to the exercise of
Options Awards granted to any person shall not
exceed 5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the
Corporation;
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(ii)
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in the absence
of action to the contrary by the Plan Administrator in connection
with the grant of an Option Award , all
Options Awards shall be Non-Qualified Stock
Options Awards , Unapproved 102 Options
Awards or Section 3(i) Options
Awards , as the case maybe;
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(iii)
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the aggregate
fair market value (determined at the Date of Grant, as defined
below) of the shares of Common Shares
Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options
are exercisable for the first time by the Optionee during any
calendar year (granted under this Plan and all other Incentive
Stock Option plans of the Corporation, a Related Corporation or a
predecessor corporation) shall not exceed U.S.$100,000, or such
other limit as may be prescribed by the Code as it may be amended
from time to time (the “Annual Limit”); and
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(iv)
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any portion of
an Option Award which exceeds the Annual Limit
shall not be void but rather shall be a Non-Qualified Stock
Option Award .
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Each Agreement
shall state the date the Plan Administrator has deemed to be the
effective date of grant of the Option
Award for purposes of this Plan (the “Date of
Grant”). Option Price
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Each Agreement
shall state the price per shares of Common Share
at Stock to which it an
Award is exercisable (if applicable) . The
Plan Administrator shall act in good faith to establish the
exercise price in accordance with Applicable Laws; provided
that:
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(i)
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the per share
exercise price for an Incentive Stock Option or any Option granted
to a “covered employee” as such term is defined for
purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code shall not be less than the
fair market value per Common Share at the Date of Grant as
determined by the Plan Administrator in good faith;
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(ii)
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with respect to
Incentive Stock Options granted to greater-than-ten percent
(>10%) shareholders of the Corporation (as determined with
reference to Section 424(d) of the Code), the exercise price per
share shall not be less than one hundred ten percent (110%) of the
fair market value per Common Share Stock at
the Date of Grant as determined by the Plan Administrator in good
faith; and
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(iii)
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Options granted
in substitution for outstanding options of another corporation in
connection with the merger, consolidation, acquisition of property
or stock or other reorganization involving such other corporation
and the Corporation or any subsidiary of the Corporation may be
granted with an exercise price equal to the exercise price for the
substituted option of the other corporation, subject to any
adjustment consistent with the terms of the transaction pursuant to
which the substitution is to occur.
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(iv)
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solely for the
purpose of determining the tax liability pursuant to Section
102(b)(3) of the Ordinance, if at the date of grant the
Corporation’s shares are listed on any established stock
exchange or a national market system or if the Corporation’s
shares will be registered for trading within ninety (90) days
following the date of grant of the CGOs CGAs ,
the fair market value of the Shares at the date of grant shall be
determined in accordance wi
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