EXHIBIT 4.2
THOMSON REUTERS
U.S. EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE
PLAN
(As of September 10,
2009)
This U.S.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ Plan ”) has
been adopted by the Company in order to provide eligible Employees
of Designated Subsidiaries of the Company with an opportunity to
purchase Common Shares. The Plan has been established as a means of
further aligning the interests of Employees with those of the
Company’s shareholders. Prior to April 1, 2008, the Plan was
intended to qualify as an “employee stock purchase
plan” within the meaning of Section 423 of the U.S. Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “ Code
”). Effective for Offering Periods that commence
on or after April 1, 2008, the Plan is not intended to so comply
and has been amended as provided herein accordingly.
For purposes of the Plan, the following terms
shall be defined as set forth below:
“ Administrator ” means the
Board, or if and to the extent the Board delegates administration
of the Plan, the Committee or its designees in accordance with
Section 12 below.
“ Board ” shall mean the
Board of Directors of the Company.
“ Business Day ” means a day
on which the New York Stock Exchange (or, if appropriate, any other
exchange that is used to determine Fair Market Value) is open for
trading.
“ Code ” shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 1, including all regulations
thereunder.
“ Committee ” shall
mean the Human Resources Committee appointed by the Board (or any
successor committee of the Board or subcommittee established by the
committee) or person or group of persons to whom such committee has
delegated any or all of its powers to administer the Plan and to
perform the functions set forth herein.
“ Common Shares ” shall mean
common shares in the capital of Thomson Reuters Corporation, and
shall include all shares or other securities issued in substitution
for the Common Shares, as provided for in
Section 17.
“ Company ” shall mean
Thomson Reuters Corporation and its successors.
“ Compensation ” shall mean
the total compensation paid to an Employee, including all salary,
wages, commissions, overtime pay and other remuneration paid
directly to the Employee, but excluding referral and hiring
bonuses, incentive bonuses, profit sharing, deferred compensation,
the cost of employee benefits paid for by Thomson Reuters,
education, tuition or other similar reimbursements, imputed income
arising under any Thomson Reuters group insurance or benefit
program, traveling expenses, business and moving expense
reimbursements, income received in connection with stock options or
other equity-based awards, contributions made by Thomson Reuters
under any employee benefit plan, and similar items of
compensation.
“ Continuous Status as an Employee
” shall mean the employment relationship with the Company or
a Designated Subsidiary is not interrupted or
terminated. Continuous Status as an Employee shall not
be considered interrupted in the case of (i) a leave of
absence agreed to in writing by the Company or a Designated
Subsidiary, as appropriate; provided, however, that (x) such leave
is for a period of not more than ninety (90) days or (y)
reemployment with the Company or a Designated Subsidiary, as
appropriate, is guaranteed by contract or statute upon expiration
of such leave or (ii) transfers between locations or
businesses of the Company or its Designated
Subsidiaries.
“ Corporate Transaction ”
shall mean a proposed sale or conveyance of all or substantially
all of the property and assets of the Company or any proposed
merger, consolidation, amalgamation or offer to acquire all or any
portion of the outstanding Common Shares or other transaction of a
like nature.
“ Designated Subsidiary ”
shall mean a Subsidiary incorporated or formed under the laws of a
state of the United States that has been designated by the
Administrator from time to time in its sole discretion as having
Employees eligible to participate in the Plan.
“ Employee ” shall mean any
person who is customarily employed for twenty (20) or more
hours per week by a Designated Subsidiary. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, from time to time, the Committee may establish different
eligibility standards for employees of Designated
Subsidiaries.
“ Enrollment Date ”
shall mean the first Trading Day of each Offering
Period.
“ ESPP Broker ” shall have
the meaning set forth in Section 8 hereof.
“ ESPP Share Account ” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section 8 hereof.
“ Fair Market Value ” shall
mean, as of a particular date, the closing price in U.S. dollars of
a Common Share on the New York Stock Exchange, provided, however,
that (i) if the Common Shares are not traded on the New York
Stock Exchange or (ii) if in the discretion of the
Administrator, such exchange does not reflect the fair market value
of the Common Shares, then “Fair Market Value” shall
mean the closing price in the applicable trading currency of a
Common Share on the other primary trading market for the Common
Shares, which as of the date of this Plan is the Toronto Stock
Exchange, such closing price to be converted into U.S. dollars or
other applicable currency (based on the mid-market noon spot rate
for exchange on the immediately preceding Business Day),
in each case using such closing price reported in
such source as the Administrator deems to be
reliable. If the Common Shares are not traded on the New
York Stock Exchange or on any other trading market, the value of a
Common Share as of a particular date shall be determined by the
Administrator in its sole discretion in good faith.
“ New Purchase Date ” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section 17 hereof.
“ Offering Period ” shall
mean a period as described in Section 4 hereof.
“ Participant ” shall mean an
Employee who elects to participate in the Plan pursuant to
Section 5 hereof.
“ Plan ” shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 1 hereof, as amended, including any
supplements, schedules, guidelines, rules and regulations adopted
by the Administrator from time to time.
“ Purchase Date ” shall mean
the last Trading Day of each Offering Period.
“ Purchase Price ” shall mean
an amount equal to 85% of the Fair Market Value of a Common Share
on the Purchase Date.
“ Subsidiary ” shall mean any
corporation of which not less than 50% of the total combined voting
power of all classes of stock is held directly or indirectly by the
Company, whether or not such corporation now exists or is hereafter
organized or acquired directly or indirectly by the Company.
“Subsidiary” also means an unincorporated business
entity, such as a limited liability company or partnership, in
which the Company holds directly or indirectly not less than 50% of
the total combined voting power with respect to all classes of
equity ownership of such entity, whether or not such unincorporated
business entity now exists or is hereafter organized or acquired
directly or indirectly by the Company.
“ Thomson Reuters ” shall
mean Thomson Reuters Corporation and its Subsidiaries or any one of
them, as the context requires.
“ Trading Day ” shall mean a
day on which the New York Stock Exchange (or, if appropriate, any
other exchange that is used to determine Fair Market Value) is open
for trading.
(a) Subject
to the limitations set forth in Section 3(b) hereof, any
person who is an Employee as of the Enrollment Date of a given
Offering Period shall be eligible to participate in the Plan in
accordance with Section 5 hereof and shall be granted an
option for the Offering Period commencing on such Enrollment
Date.
(b) Notwithstanding
any provision of the Plan to the contrary, no Employee shall be
granted an option under the Plan to the extent that (i) such
Employee (or any other person whose stock would be attributed to
such Employee), immediately after the option is granted, would own
Common Shares and/or hold outstanding options to purchase Common
Shares representing five percent (5%) or more of the total combined
voting power or value of all classes of capital stock of the
Company or of any Subsidiary or (ii) such grant would permit
such Employee’s right to purchase Common Shares under all
employee stock purchase plans of Thomson Reuters to accrue at a
rate that exceeds twenty-five thousand U.S. dollars (US$25,000) of
Fair Market Value of such Common Shares (determined at the time
such option is granted) for any calendar year in which such option
would be outstanding. Any amounts received from an
Employee that cannot be used to purchase Common Shares as a result
of this limitation shall be returned as soon as reasonably
practicable to the Employee without interest.
The Plan shall be implemented by a series of
consecutive three-month Offering Periods, with a new Offering
Period commencing on the first Trading Day on or after the first
day of each calendar quarter (beginning October 1, 2009), or at
such other time or times as may be determined by the Administrator,
and ending on the last Trading Day on or before the end of each
calendar quarter, or at such other time or times as may be
determined by the Administrator. The Plan shall continue
until terminated in accordance with Section 18
hereof. Subject to Section 18 hereof, the
Administrator shall have the power to change the duration and/or
the frequency of Offering Periods with respect to future offerings
and shall use its reasonable efforts to notify Employees of any
such change at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled beginning
of the first Offering Period to be affected. In no event
shall any option granted hereunder be exercisable more than
twenty-seven (27) months from its date of grant. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, with respect to any Employee, options granted
hereunder may not be exercisable later than March 15 of the year
following the year in which any such Employee becomes vested in any
such option.
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Enrollment;
Participation.
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(a) On
each Enrollment Date, the Company shall commence an offering by
granting each eligible Employee who has elected to participate in
such Offering Period pursuant to Section 5(b) hereof an option
to purchase on the Purchase Date of such Offering Period up to a
number of Common Shares determined by dividing each
Employee’s payroll deductions accumulated prior to such
Purchase Date and credited to the Participant’s account under
the Plan as of such Purchase Date by the applicable Purchase Price;
provided that such purchase shall be subject to the limitations set
forth in Sections 3(b) and 11 hereof. Exercise of the
option shall occur as provided in Section 7 hereof, unless the
Participant has withdrawn his or her payroll deductions pursuant to
Section 9. The option with respect to an Offering
Period shall expire on the Purchase Date with respect to such
Offering Period or the withdrawal date, if earlier.
(b) An
Employee may (subject to the limitations set forth in
Section 3(b)) elect to become a Participant in the Plan by
properly enrolling in accordance with such procedures as may be
specified by the Company, authorizing the Company or a Designated
Subsidiary to make payroll deductions (as set forth in
Section 6 hereof) more than five (5) business days prior
to the applicable Enrollment Date unless a later time for
enrollment is set by the Company or the Administrator for all
Employees. Unless a Participant, by giving written
notice (or by such other means or other notice as may from time to
time be prescribed by the Administrator) to the Company or a
Designated Subsidiary, as applicable, elects not to participate
with respect to any subsequent Offering Period, the Participant
shall be deemed to have accepted each new offer and to have
authorized payroll deductions in respect thereof during each
subsequent Offering Period.
(a) An
Employee may, in accordance with rules and procedures adopted by
the Administrator and subject to the limitation set forth in
Section 3(b) hereof, authorize payroll deductions in amounts
which are not less than one percent (1%) and not more than ten
percent (10%) of such Employee’s Compensation on each payday
occurring during an Offering Period (or such other maximum
percentage as the Administrator may establish from time to time
before an Offering Period). Payroll deductions shall
commence on the first payroll paid following the Enrollment Date
(but if such date is not administratively practicable, by the
second payroll paid following the Enrollment Date), and shall end
(as is administratively practicable) on the last payroll paid prior
to or on the Purchase Date of the Offering Period to which the
enrollment is applicable, unless earlier terminated by the
Participant’s withdrawal from the Plan or termination of the
Participant’s Continuous Status as an Employee as provided in
Section 9. A Participant may decrease or increase
his or her rate of payroll deductions or may suspend payroll
deductions at any such time during an Offering Period as may be
determined and communicated to Participants by the Company or the
Administrator prior to the commencement of an Offering Period;
provided, however, that the Participant shall be required to
provide the Administrator with written notice (or such other means
or other notice as may from time to time be prescribed by the
Administrator) of any such decrease, increase or
suspension. The change in rate or suspension of payroll
deductions, as the case may be, shall be effective as soon as
administratively possible, but in no event later than the first
full payroll period commencing five (5) or more business days
after the Administrator’s receipt of notice from the
Participant.
(b) All
payroll deductions made by a Participant shall be credited to such
Participant’s account under the Plan and shall be withheld in
whole percentages only. A Participant may not make any
payments into such account except payments made through payroll
deductions as provided in the Plan. Crediting to the
Participant’s account shall occur as soon as it is
administratively reasonable after the deductions are withheld from
the Employee’s Compensation.
(c) Notwithstanding
the foregoing, to the extent necessary to comply Section 3(b)
hereof, a Participant’s rate of payroll deductions may be
decreased by the Company to zero percent (0%) at any time during an
Offering Period. Payroll deductions shall recommence at
the rate provided for by the Participant as part of his or her
enrollment at the beginning of the first Offering Period which is
scheduled to commence in the following calendar year, unless a
Participant increases or decreases the rate of, or suspends, his or
her payroll deductions as provided in Section 6(a) hereof, or
terminates his or her participation in the Plan as provided in
Section 9.
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Purchase of
Common Shares.
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Except for Participants who have withdrawn from
the Plan as provided in Section 9 hereof, all
Participants’ elections to purchase Common Shares shall be
exercised automatically on each Purchase Date, and the maximum
number of whole Common Shares subject to the option shall be
acquired on behalf of and allocated to each Participant at the
applicable Purchase Price with the accumulated payroll deductions
credited to each P