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Previous: GREAT PLAINS SOFTWARE INC, 10-K405/A, 2000-11-03 |
Next: GREAT PLAINS SOFTWARE INC, 10-K405/A, EX-10.6, 2000-11-03 |
Exhibit 10.4
GREAT PLAINS SOFTWARE, INC.
1997 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
SECTION 1. PURPOSE; EFFECT ON PRIOR PLANS.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of the Great Plains Software, Inc. 1997 Stock Incentive Plan (the "Plan") is to promote the interests of Great Plains Software, Inc. (the "Company") and its shareholders by aiding the Company in attracting and retaining personnel capable of assuring the future success of the Company, to offer such personnel incentives to put forth maximum efforts for the success of the Company's business and to afford such personnel an opportunity to acquire a proprietary interest in the Company.
(b) Effect on Prior Plan. From and after the date on which the Company's shareholders approve this Plan, no awards or stock options shall be granted under the Prior Plan. All outstanding stock options granted prior to the date on which the Company's shareholders approve this Plan shall remain outstanding in accordance with the terms of the Prior Plan.
As used in the Plan, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
(a) "Affiliate" shall mean (i) any entity that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, is controlled by the Company and (ii) any entity in which the Company has a significant equity interest, in each case as determined by the Committee.
(b) "Award" shall mean any Option, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Performance Award, Dividend Equivalent or Other Stock-Based Award granted under the Plan.
(c) "Award Agreement" shall mean any written agreement, contract or other instrument or document evidencing any Award granted under the Plan.
(d) "Code" shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.
(e) "Committee" shall mean a committee of the Board of Directors of the Company designated by such Board to administer the Plan, which shall consist of members appointed from time to time by the Board of Directors and shall be comprised of not less than two directors. Each member of the Committee shall be a "Non-Employee Director" within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 and an "outside director" within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code. The Committee may be the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, provided that the requirements of this Section are met.
(f) "Company" shall mean Great Plains Software, Inc., a Minnesota corporation, and any successor corporation.
(g) "Dividend Equivalent" shall mean any right granted under Section 6(d) of the Plan.
(h) "Effective Date" shall mean the later of (i) the date on which the Plan is approved by the shareholders of the Company and (ii) the date on which the Company's registration statement relating to its initial public offering of Shares is declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(i) "Eligible Person" shall mean any employee, officer, director, consultant or independent contractor providing services to the Company or any Affiliate who the Committee determines to be an Eligible Person.
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(j) "Fair Market Value" shall mean, with respect to any property (including, without limitation, any Shares or other securities), the fair market value of such property determined by such methods or procedures as shall be established from time to time by the Committee.
(k) "Incentive Stock Option" shall mean an option granted under Section 6(a) of the Plan that is intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision.
(l) "Non-Qualified Stock Option" shall mean an option granted under Section 6(a) of the Plan that is not intended to be an Incentive Stock Option.
(m) "Option" shall mean an Incentive Stock Option or a Non-Qualified Stock Option.
(n) "Other Stock-Based Award" shall mean any right granted under Section 6(f) of the Plan.
(o) "Participant" shall mean an Eligible Person designated to be granted an Award under the Plan.
(p) "Performance Award" shall mean any right granted under Section 6(c) of the Plan.
(q) "Person" shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, association or trust.
(r) "Plan" shall mean this 1997 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.
(s) "Prior Plan" shall mean the Company's 1983 Incentive Stock Option Plan, as amended.
(t) "Reload Option" shall mean any Option granted under Section 6(a)(iv) of the Plan.
(u) "Restricted Stock" shall mean any Share granted under Section 6(b) of the Plan.
(v) "Restricted Stock Unit" shall mean any unit granted under Section 6(b) of the Plan evidencing the right to receive a Share (or a cash payment equal to the Fair Market Value of a Share) at some future date.
(w) "Rule 16b-3" shall mean Rule 16b-3 promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any successor rule or regulation.
(x) "Shares" shall mean shares of Common Stock, $.01 par value, of the Company or such other securities or property as may become subject to Awards pursuant to an adjustment made under Section 4(c) of the Plan.
(y) "Stock Appreciation Right" shall mean any right granted under Section 6(e) of the Plan.
(a) Power and Authority of the Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the Committee. Subject to the express provisions of the Plan and to applicable law, the Committee shall have full power and authority to: (i) designate Participants; (ii) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to each Participant under the Plan; (iii) determine the number of Shares to be covered by (or with respect to which payments, rights or other matters are to be calculated in connection with) each Award; (iv) determine the terms and conditions of any Award or Award Agreement; (v) amend the terms and conditions of any Award or Award Agreement and accelerate the exercisability of Options or the lapse of restrictions relating to Restricted Stock or other Awards; (vi) determine whether, to what extent and under what circumstances Awards may be exercised in cash, Shares, other securities, other Awards or other property, or canceled, forfeited or suspended; (vii) determine whether, to what extent and under what circumstances cash, Shares, other securities, other Awards, other property and other amounts payable with respect to an Award under the Plan shall be deferred either automatically or at the election of the holder thereof or the Committee; (viii) interpret and administer the Plan and any instrument or agreement relating to, or Award made under, the Plan; (ix) establish, amend, suspend or waive such rules and regulations and appoint such agents as it shall deem appropriate for the proper
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administration of the Plan; and (x) make any other determination and take any other action that the Committee deems necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan, all designations, determinations, interpretations and other decisions under or with respect to the Plan or any Award shall be within the sole discretion of the Committee, may be made at any time and shall be final, conclusive and binding upon any Participant, any holder or beneficiary of any Award and any employee of the Company or any Affiliate.
(b) Delegation. The Committee may delegate its powers and duties under the Plan to one or more officers of the Company or any Affiliate or a committee of such officers, subject to such terms, conditions and limitations as the Committee may establish in its sole discretion; provided, however, that the Committee shall not delegate its powers and duties under the Plan (i) with regard to officers or directors of the Company or any Affiliate who are subject to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended or (ii) in such a manner as would cause the Plan not to comply with the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code.
SECTION 4. SHARES AVAILABLE FOR AWARDS.
(a) Shares Available. Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 4(d), the number of Shares available for granting Awards under the Plan shall be equal to 3,500,000. In addition, any Shares granted under the Plan which are forfeited back to the Company because of the failure to meet an Award contingency or condition shall again be available for delivery pursuant to new Awards granted under the Plan. Any Shares covered by an Award (or portion of an Award) granted under the Plan, which is forfeited or canceled, expires or is settled in cash, shall be deemed not to have been delivered for purposes of determining the maximum number of Shares available for delivery under the Plan. Likewise, any Shares that are used by a Participant as full or partial payment to the Company of the purchase price relating to an Award, or in connection with satisfaction of tax obligations relating to an Award in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of the Plan, shall again be available for granting Awards under the Plan. Further, Shares issued under the Plan through the settlement, assumption or substitution of outstanding awards or obligations to grant future awards as a condition of the Company acquiring another entity shall not reduce the maximum number of Shares available for delivery under the Plan.
(b) Accounting for Awards. For purposes of this Section 4, if an Award entitles the holder thereof to receive or purchase Shares, the number of Shares covered by such Award or to which such Award relates shall be counted on the date of grant of such Award against the aggregate number of Shares available for granting Awards under the Plan.
(c) Incentive Stock Options. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the number of Shares available for granting Incentive Stock Options under the Plan shall not exceed 3,500,000, subject to adjustment as provided in the Plan and Section 422 or 424 of the Code or any successor provisions.
(d) Adjustments. In the event that the Committee shall determine that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Shares, other securities or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up, spin-off, combination, repurchase or exchange of Shares or other securities of the Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to purchase Shares or other securities of the Company or other similar corporate transaction or event affects the Shares such that an adjustment is determined by the Committee to be appropriate in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan, then the Committee shall, in such manner as it may deem equitable, adjust any or all of (i) the number and type of Shares (or other securities or other property) which thereafter may be made the subject of Awards, (ii) the number and type of Shares (or other securities or other property) subject to outstanding Awards and (iii) the purchase or exercise price with respect to any
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Award; provided, however, that the number of Shares covered by any Award or to which such Award relates shall always be a whole number.
(e) Award Limitations under the Plan. No Eligible Person may be granted any Award or Awards, the value of which Awards are based solely on an increase in the value of the Shares after the date of grant of such Awards, for more than 200,000 Shares, subject to adjustment as provided in the Plan during any one calendar year. The foregoing limitation specifically includes the grant of any "performance-based" Awards within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code.
Any Eligible Person, including any Eligible Person who is an officer or director of the Company or any Affiliate, shall be eligible to be designated a Participant. In determining which Eligible Persons shall receive an Award and the terms of any Award, the Committee may take into account the nature of the services rendered by the respective Eligible Persons, their present and potential contributions to the success of the Company or such other factors as the Committee, in its discretion, shall deem relevant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Incentive Stock Option may only be granted to full or part-time employees (which term as used herein includes, without limitation, officers and directors who are also employees) and an Incentive Stock Option shall not be granted to an employee of an Affiliate unless such Affiliate is also a "subsidiary corporation" of the Company within the meaning of Section 424(f) of the Code or any successor provision.
(a) Options. The Committee is hereby authorized to grant Options to Participants with the following terms and conditions and with such additional terms and conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan as the Committee shall determine:
(i) Exercise Price. The purchase price per Share purchasable under an Option shall be determined by the Committee; provided, however, that such purchase price shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant of such Option.
(ii) Option Term. The term of each Option shall be fixed by the Committee.
(iii) Time and Method of Exercise. The Committee shall determine the time or times at which an Option may be exercised in whole or in part and the method or methods by which, and the form or forms (including, without limitation, cash, Shares, promissory notes, other securities, other Awards or other property, or any combination thereof, having a Fair Market Value on the exercise date equal to the relevant exercise price) in which, payment of the exercise price with respect thereto may be made or deemed to have been made.
(iv) Reload Options. The Committee may grant Reload Options, separately or together with another Option, pursuant to which, subject to the terms and conditions established by the Committee and any applicable requirements of Rule 16b-3 or any other applicable law, the Participant would be granted a new Option when the payment of the exercise price of a previously granted option is made by the delivery of Shares owned by the Participant pursuant to Section 6(a)(iii) hereof or the relevant provisions of another plan of the Company, and/or when Shares are tendered or forfeited as payment of the amount to be withheld under applicable income tax laws in connection with the exercise of an Option, which new Option would be an Option to purchase the number of Shares not exceeding the sum of (A) the number of Shares so provided as consideration upon the exercise of the previously granted option to which such Reload Option relates and (B) the number of Shares, if any, tendered or withheld as payment of the amount to be withheld under applicable tax laws in connection with the exercise of the option to which such Reload Option relates pursuant to the relevant provisions of the plan or agreement
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relating to such option. Reload Options may be granted with respect to Options previously granted under the Plan or any other stock option plan of the Company, and may be granted in connection with any Option granted under the Plan or any other stock option plan of the Company at the time of such grant. Such Reload Options shall have a per share exercise price equal to the Fair Market Value as of the date of grant of the new Option. Any Reload Option shall be subject to availability of sufficient Shares for grant under the Plan.
(b) Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units. The Committee is hereby authorized to grant Awards of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units to Participants with the following terms and conditions and with such additional terms and conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan as the Committee shall determine:
(i) Restrictions. Shares of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units shall be subject to such restrictions as the Committee may impose (including, without limitation, any limitation on the right to vote a Share of Restricted Stock or the right to receive any dividend or other right or property with respect thereto or with respect to a Restricted Stock Unit), which restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such time or times, in such installments or otherwise as the Committee may deem appropriate. Shares of Restricted Stock shall contain a restriction providing for a vesting period of not less than one year.
(ii) Stock Certificates. Any Restricted Stock granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by issuance of a stock certificate or certificates or may be in the form of a bookkeeping entry, which certificate or certificates shall be held by the Company and which bookkeeping entry shall be evidenced in the records of the Company's transfer agent in an account maintained for the Participant. Such certificate or certificates, or entries on the records of the transfer agent, as the case may be, shall be registered in the name of the Participant and shall bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock. In the case of Restricted Stock Units, no Shares shall be issued at the time such Awards are granted.
(iii) Forfeiture; Delivery of Shares. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee, upon termination of employment (as determined under criteria established by the Committee) during the applicable restriction period, all Shares of Restricted Stock and all Restricted Stock Units at such time subject to restriction shall be forfeited and reacquired by the Company; provided, however, that the Committee may, when it finds that a waiver would be in the best interest of the Company, waive in whole or in part any or all remaining restrictions with respect to Shares of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units. Any Share representing Restricted Stock that is no longer subject to restrictions shall be delivered to the holder thereof promptly after the applicable restrictions lapse or are waived or applicable restrictions shall be lifted from the records of the transfer agent, as the case may be. Upon the lapse or waiver of restrictions and the restricted period relating to Restricted Stock Units evidencing the right to receive Shares, such Shares shall be issued and delivered to the holders of the Restricted Stock Units.
(c) Performance Awards. The Committee is hereby authorized to grant Performance Awards to Participants subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement. A Performance Award granted under the Plan (i) may be denominated or payable in cash, Shares (including, without limitation, Restricted Stock), other securities, other Awards or other property and (ii) shall confer on the holder thereof the right to receive payments, in whole or in part, upon the achievement of such performance goals during such performance periods as the Committee shall establish. Subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement, the performance goals to be achieved during any performance period, the length of any performance period, the amount of any Performance Award granted, the amount of any payment or transfer to be made pursuant to any Performance Award and any other terms and conditions of any Performance Award shall be determined by the Committee.
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(d) Dividend Equivalents. The Committee is hereby authorized to grant to Participants Dividend Equivalents under which such Participants shall be entitled to receive payments (in cash, Shares, other securities, other Awards or other property as determined in the discretion of the Committee) equivalent to the amount of cash dividends paid by the Company to holders of Shares with respect to a number of Shares determined by the Committee. Subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement, such Dividend Equivalents may have such terms and conditions as the Committee shall determine.
(e) Stock Appreciation Rights. The Committee is hereby authorized to grant Stock Appreciation Rights to Participants subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement. A Stock Appreciation Right granted under the Plan shall confer on the holder thereof a right to receive upon exercise thereof the excess of (i) the Fair Market Value of one Share on the date of exercise (or, if the Committee shall so determine, at any time during a specified period before or after the date of exercise) over (ii) the grant price of the Stock Appreciation Right as specified by the Committee, which price shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of one Share on the date of grant of the Stock Appreciation Right; provided, however, that such grant price may be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of one Share on the date of grant of the Stock Appreciation Right if such right is granted to replace a stock option of the Company based on the excess of the Fair Market Value of a Share over the exercise price of such stock option. Subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement, the grant price, term, methods of exercise, dates of exercise, methods of settlement and any other terms and conditions of any Stock Appreciation Right shall be as determined by the Committee. The Committee may impose such conditions or restrictions on the exercise of any Stock Appreciation Right as it may deem appropriate.
(f) Other Stock-Based Awards. The Committee is hereby authorized to grant to Participants such other Awards that are denominated or payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on or related to, Shares (including, without limitation, securities convertible into Shares), as are deemed by the Committee to be consistent with the purpose of the Plan; provided, however, that such grants must comply with Rule 16b-3 and applicable law. Subject to the terms of the Plan and any applicable Award Agreement, the Committee shall determine the terms and conditions of such Awards. Shares or other securities delivered pursuant to a purchase right granted under this Section 6(f) shall be purchased for such consideration, which may be paid by such method or methods and in such form or forms (including without limitation, cash, Shares, promissory notes, other securities, other Awards or other property or any combination thereof), as the Committee shall determine, the value of which consideration, as established by the Committee, shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of such Shares or other securities as of the date such purchase right is granted.
(g) General.
(i) No Cash Consideration for Awards. Awards shall be granted for no cash consideration or for such minimal cash consideration as may be required by applicable law.
(ii) Awards may be Granted Separately or Together. Awards may, in the discretion of the Committee, be granted either alone or in addition to, in tandem with or in substitution for any other Award or any award granted under any plan of the Company or any Affiliate other than the Plan. Awards granted in addition to or in tandem with other Awards or in addition to or in tandem with awards granted under any such other plan of the Company or any Affiliate may be granted either at the same time as or at a different time from the grant of such other Awards or awards.
(iii) Forms of Payment Under Awards. Subject to the terms of the Plan and of any applicable Award Agreement, payments or transfers to be made by the Company or an Affiliate upon the grant, exercise or payment of an Award may be made in such form or forms as the Committee
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shall determine (including, without limitation, (i) cash, (ii) check, (iii) other Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of exercise equal to the aggregate exercise price of said Award, (iv) authorization for the Company to retain from the total number of Shares as to which the Award is exercised that number of Shares having a Fair Market Value on the date of exercise equal to the exercise price of said Award, (v) delivery of a properly executed exercise notice together with irrevocable instructions to a broker to promptly deliver to the Company the amount of sale or loan proceeds required to pay the exercise price, (vi) any combination of the foregoing methods of payment or (vii) such other consideration and method of payment for the issuance of Shares as may be permitted under applicable laws). Such payments or transfers may be made in a single payment or transfer, in installments or on a deferred basis, in each case in accordance with rules and procedures established by the Committee. Such rules and procedures may include, without limitation, provisions for the payment or crediting of reasonable interest on installment or deferred payments or the grant or crediting of Dividend Equivalents with respect to installment or deferred payments.
(iv) Limits on Transfer of Awards. Except as otherwise provided in any applicable Award Agreement (other than an Award Agreement relating to an Incentive Stock Option) pursuant to terms determined by the Committee, no Award and no right under any Award shall be transferable by a Participant otherwise than by will or by laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the Participant's lifetime only by the Participant or, if permissible under applicable law, by the Participant's guardian or legal representative. Except as otherwise provided in any applicable Award Agreement, no Award or right under any such Award may be pledged, alienated, attached or otherwise encumbered, and any purported pledge, alienation, attachment or encumbrance thereof shall be void and unenforceable against the Company or any Affiliate.
(v) Term of Awards. The term of each Award shall be for such period as may be determined by the Committee.
(vi) Restrictions; Securities Exchange Listing. All certificates for Shares or other securities delivered under the Plan pursuant to any Award or the exercise thereof shall be subject to such stop transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee may deem advisable under the Plan or the rules, regulations and other requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any applicable federal or state securities laws, and the Committee may cause a legend or legends to be placed on any such certificates to make appropriate reference to such restrictions. If the Shares or other securities are traded on a securities exchange, the Company shall not be required to deliver any Shares or other securities covered by an Award unless and until such Shares or other securities have been admitted for trading on such securities exchange.
SECTION 7. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION; ADJUSTMENTS.
Except to the extent prohibited by applicable law and unless otherwise expressly provided in an Award Agreement or in the Plan:
(a) Amendments to the Plan. The Board of Directors of the Company may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue or terminate the Plan; provided, however, that, notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan or any Award Agreement, without the approval of the shareholders of the Company, no such amendment, alteration, suspension, discontinuation or termination shall be made that, absent such approval:
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(b) Amendments to Awards. The Committee may waive any conditions of or rights of the Company under any outstanding Award, prospectively or retroactively. The Committee may not amend, alter, suspend, discontinue or terminate any outstanding Award, prospectively or retroactively, without the consent of the Participant or holder or beneficiary thereof, except as otherwise herein provided.
(c) Correction of Defects, Omissions and Inconsistencies. The Committee may correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or any Award in the manner and to the extent it shall deem desirable to carry the Plan into effect.
SECTION 8. INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING; TAX BONUSES.
(a) Withholding. In order to comply with all applicable federal or state income tax laws or regulations, the Company may take such action as it deems appropriate to ensure that all applicable federal or state payroll, withholding, income or other taxes, which are the sole and absolute responsibility of a Participant, are withheld or collected from such Participant. In order to assist a Participant in paying all or a portion of the federal and state taxes to be withheld or collected upon exercise or receipt of (or the lapse of restrictions relating to) an Award, the Committee, in its discretion and subject to such additional terms and conditions as it may adopt, may permit the Participant to satisfy such tax obligation by (i) electing to have the Company withhold a portion of the Shares otherwise to be delivered upon exercise or receipt of (or the lapse of restrictions relating to) such Award with a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of such taxes or (ii) delivering to the Company Shares other than Shares issuable upon exercise or receipt of (or the lapse of restrictions relating to) such Award with a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of such taxes.
(b) Tax Bonuses. The Committee, in its discretion, shall have the authority, at the time of grant of any Award under this Plan or at any time thereafter, to approve cash bonuses to designated Participants to be paid upon their exercise or receipt of (or the lapse of restrictions relating to) Awards in order to provide funds to pay all or a portion of federal and state taxes due as a result of such exercise or receipt (or the lapse of such restrictions). The Committee shall have full authority in its discretion to determine the amount of any such tax bonus.
SECTION 9. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) No Rights to Awards. No Eligible Person, Participant or other Person shall have any claim to be granted any Award under the Plan, and there is no obligation for uniformity of treatment of Eligible Persons, Participants or holders or beneficiaries of Awards under the Plan. The terms and conditions of Awards need not be the same with respect to any Participant or with respect to different Participants.
(b) Award Agreements. No Participant will have rights under an Award granted to such Participant unless and until an Award Agreement shall have been duly executed on behalf of the Company.
(c) No Limit on Other Compensation Arrangements. Nothing contained in the Plan shall prevent the Company or any Affiliate from adopting or continuing in effect other or additional compensation arrangements, and such arrangements may be either generally applicable or applicable only in specific cases.
(d) No Right to Employment. The grant of an Award shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to be retained in the employ of the Company or any Affiliate, nor will it affect in any way the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate such employment at any time, with or without cause. In addition, the Company or an Affiliate may at any time dismiss a Participant from
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employment free from any liability or any claim under the Plan, unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan or in any Award Agreement.
(e) Governing Law. The validity, construction and effect of the Plan or any Award, and any rules and regulations relating to the Plan or any Award, shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota.
(f) Severability. If any provision of the Plan or any Award is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction or would disqualify the Plan or any Award under any law deemed applicable by the Committee, such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to applicable laws, or if it cannot be so construed or deemed amended without, in the determination of the Committee, materially altering the purpose or intent of the Plan or the Award, such provision shall be stricken as to such jurisdiction or Award, and the remainder of the Plan or any such Award shall remain in full force and effect.
(g) No Trust or Fund Created. Neither the Plan nor any Award shall create or be construed to create a trust or separate fund of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Company or any Affiliate and a Participant or any other Person. To the extent that any Person acquires a right to receive payments from the Company or any Affiliate pursuant to an Award, such right shall be no greater than the right of any unsecured general creditor of the Company or any Affiliate.
(h) No Fractional Shares. No fractional Shares shall be issued or delivered pursuant to the Plan or any Award, and the Committee shall determine whether cash shall be paid in lieu of any fractional Shares or whether such fractional Shares or any rights thereto shall be canceled, terminated or otherwise eliminated.
(i) Headings. Headings are given to the Sections and subsections of the Plan solely as a convenience to facilitate reference. Such headings shall not be deemed in any way material or relevant to the construction or interpretation of the Plan or any provision thereof.
(j) Other Benefits. No compensation or benefit awarded to or realized by any Participant under the Plan shall be included for the purpose of computing such Participant's compensation under any compensation-based retirement, disability, or similar plan of the Company unless required by law or otherwise provided by such other plan.
SECTION 10. SECTION 16(b) COMPLIANCE.
The Plan is intended to comply in all respects with Rule 16b-3 or any successor provision, as in effect from time to time and in all events the Plan shall be construed in accordance with the requirements of Rule 16b-3. If any Plan provision does not comply with Rule 16b-3 as hereafter amended or interpreted, the provision shall be deemed inoperative. The Board, in its absolute discretion, may bifurcate the Plan so as to restrict, limit or condition the use of any provision of the Plan to participants who are officers or directors subject to Section 16 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, without so restricting, limiting or conditioning the Plan with respect to other participants.
SECTION 11. SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL; EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE PLAN.
The Plan shall be subject to approval by the shareholders of the Company prior to the Effective Date. If the Plan is approved by the Company's shareholders, the Plan shall be effective as of the Effective Date.
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Awards shall only be granted under the Plan during a ten-year period beginning on the effective date of the Plan. However, unless otherwise expressly provided in the Plan or in an applicable Award Agreement, any Award theretofore granted may extend beyond the end of such ten-year period, and the authority of the Committee provided for hereunder with respect to the Plan and any Awards, and the authority of the Board of Directors of the Company to amend the Plan, shall extend beyond the end of such period.
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