UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
(Rule
14a-101)
INFORMATION
REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE
14A INFORMATION
Proxy
Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Filed by
the Registrant x
Filed by
a Party other than the Registrant o
Check the
appropriate box:
x
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Preliminary
Proxy Statement
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o
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Confidential,
for the use of the Commission only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2))
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o
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Definitive
Proxy Statement
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o
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Definitive
Additional Materials
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o
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Soliciting
Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12
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PERVASIP
CORP.
(Name of
Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
(Name(s)
of Person Filing Proxy Statement, if Other than Registrant)
Payment
of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
o
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Fee
computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and
0-11.
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(1)
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Title
of each class of securities to which transaction
applies:
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(2)
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Aggregate
number of securities to which transaction
applies:
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(3)
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Per
unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to
Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is
calculated and state how it was
determined):
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(4)
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Proposed
maximum aggregate value of
transaction:
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o
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Fee
paid previously with preliminary
materials:
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o
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Check
box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule
0-1l(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid
previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number,
or the Form or Schedule and the date of its
filing.
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(1)
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Amount
Previously Paid:
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(2)
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Form,
Schedule or Registration Statement
No.:
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PERVASIP
CORP.
75
South Broadway, Suite 400
White
Plains, New York 10601
NOTICE
OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO
BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2009
April __,
2009
To the
shareholders of Pervasip Corp.:
Notice is
hereby given that the annual meeting of shareholders of Pervasip Corp., a New
York corporation, will be held at our executive offices located at 75 South
Broadway, White Plains, New York 10601 on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 10:00 A.M.,
local time, for the following purposes:
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1.
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To
elect five directors to our board of directors for the fiscal year ending
November 30, 2009;
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2.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to approve and adopt our 2009 Equity
Incentive Plan;
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3.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to approve and adopt our 2007 Contingent
Stock Option Plan;
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4.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to amend our Certificate of
Incorporation to increase the total number of shares of capital stock that
we are authorized to issue to two hundred fifty-one million (251,000,000)
shares, of which two hundred fifty million (250,000,000) shares shall be
common stock, par value $.10 per share, and one million (1,000,000) shares
shall be preferred stock, par value $.10 per
share;
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5.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to amend our Certificate of
Incorporation to effect a stock combination, or reverse stock split,
pursuant to which up to ten shares of the our common stock would be
exchanged for one new share of common
stock;
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6.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to ratify the appointment of Nussbaum
Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow, LLP, as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2009;
and
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7.
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To
consider and act upon such other business as may properly come before the
meeting.
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The
foregoing items of business are more fully described in the proxy statement
accompanying this notice. Our board of directors has fixed the close of business
on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 as the record date for the determination of
shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting and at any
adjournment or postponement thereof.
Whether
or not you plan to attend the annual meeting, you should complete, sign, date
and promptly return the enclosed proxy card, to ensure that your shares will be
represented at the meeting. If you attend the annual meeting and wish
to vote in person, you may withdraw your proxy and vote in person. You should
not send any certificates representing stock with your proxy card.
Sincerely,
Paul
H. Riss
Chairman
of the Board
75
South Broadway, Suite 302
White
Plains, New York 10601
PROXY
STATEMENT
Date,
Time and Place of the Annual Meeting
This
proxy statement is furnished to the shareholders of Pervasip Corp. in connection
with the solicitation, by order of our board of directors, of proxies to be
voted at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held on Wednesday, May 13,
2009 at 10:00 A.M., local time, at our executive offices located at 75 South
Broadway, Suite 400, White Plains, New York 10601, and at any adjournment or
adjournments thereof. The accompanying proxy is being solicited on behalf of our
board of directors. We intend to release this proxy statement and the
enclosed proxy card to our shareholders on or about Monday, April 13,
2009.
Purpose
of the Annual Meeting
At the
annual meeting, you will be asked to consider and vote upon the following
matters:
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1.
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To
elect five directors to our board of directors for the fiscal year ending
November 30, 2009;
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2.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to approve and adopt our 2009 Equity
Incentive Plan;
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3.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to approve and adopt our 2007 Contingent
Stock Option Plan;
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4.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to amend our Certificate of
Incorporation to increase the total number of shares of capital stock that
we are authorized to issue to two hundred fifty-one million (251,000,000)
shares, of which two hundred fifty million (250,000,000) shares shall be
common stock, par value $.10 per share, and one million (1,000,000) shares
shall be preferred stock, par value $.10 per
share;
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5.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to amend our Certificate of
Incorporation to effect a stock combination, or reverse stock split,
pursuant to which up to ten shares of the our common stock would be
exchanged for one new share of common
stock;
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4.
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To
consider and vote upon a proposal to ratify the appointment of Nussbaum
Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow, LLP, as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2009;
and
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5.
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To
consider and act upon such other business as may properly come before the
meeting.
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Voting
and Revocation of Proxies; Adjournment
All of
our voting securities represented by valid proxies, unless the shareholder
otherwise specifies therein or unless revoked, will be voted FOR each of the
director nominees set forth herein, FOR the approval of the adoption of our 2009
Stock Option Plan, FOR the approval of the adoption of our 2007 Contingent Stock
Option Plan, FOR the amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to increase
the total number of shares of capital stock that we are authorized to issue, FOR
the amendment to our certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock
split, FOR the ratification of Nussbaum Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow, LLP as
our independent registered public accounting firm and at the discretion of the
proxy holders on any other matters that may properly come before the annual
meeting. Our board of directors does not know of any matters to be
considered at the annual meeting other than as set forth herein.
If a
shareholder has appropriately specified how a proxy is to be voted, it will be
voted accordingly. Any shareholder has the power to revoke such
shareholder’s proxy at any time before it is voted. A shareholder may
revoke a proxy by delivering a written statement to our corporate secretary
stating that the proxy is revoked, by submitting a subsequent proxy signed by
the same person who signed the prior proxy, or by voting in person at the annual
meeting.
As of
March 27, 2009, we had a total of 26,326,172 shares of common stock
outstanding. A plurality of the votes cast at the annual meeting by
the shareholders entitled to vote in the election is required to elect the
director nominees, the approval by the holders of a majority of our outstanding
shares of common stock is required to approve the proposed amendments to our
certificate of incorporation and a majority of the votes cast by the
shareholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting is required to approve the
proposed adoption of our 2009 Stock Option Plan and our 2007 Contingent Stock
Option Plan and to take any other action, including the approval of our
independent registered public accounting firm. For purposes of
determining whether a proposal has received the required vote, abstentions will
be included in the vote totals, with the result being that an abstention will
have the same effect as a negative vote. In instances where brokers
are prohibited from exercising discretionary authority for beneficial holders
who have not returned a proxy (so-called "broker non-votes"), those shares will
not be included in the vote totals and, therefore, will also have the same
effect as a negative vote. Shares that abstain or for which the
authority to vote is withheld on certain matters will, however, be treated as
present for quorum purposes on all matters.
In the
event that sufficient votes in favor of any of the matters to come before the
meeting are not received by the date of the annual meeting, the persons named as
proxies may propose one or more adjournments of the annual meeting to permit
further solicitation of proxies. Any such adjournment will require
the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock
present in person or by proxy at the annual meeting. The persons
named as proxies will vote in favor of any such proposed adjournment or
adjournments. Under New York law, shareholders will not have
appraisal or similar rights in connection with any proposal set forth in this
proxy statement.
Solicitation
The
solicitation of proxies pursuant to this proxy statement will be primarily by
mail. In addition, certain of our directors, officers or other
employees may solicit proxies by telephone, mail or personal interviews, and
arrangements may be made with banks, brokerage firms and others to forward
solicitation material to the beneficial owners of shares held by them of
record. No additional compensation will be paid to our directors,
officers or other employees for such services. We will bear the cost
of the solicitation of proxies related to the annual meeting.
Quorum
and Voting Rights
Our board
of directors has fixed Wednesday, April 1, 2009, as the record date for the
determination of shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual
meeting. Holders of record of shares of our common stock at the close
of business on the record date will be entitled to one vote for each share
held. The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities entitled to vote at the annual
meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum at the annual meeting.
VOTING
SECURITIES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS THEREOF
The
following table sets forth, as of March 27, 2009, the names, addresses and
number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by all persons known to
us to be beneficial owners of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of common
stock, and the names and number of shares beneficially owned by all of our
directors and all of our executive officers and directors as a group (except as
indicated, each beneficial owner listed exercises sole voting power and sole
dispositive power over the shares beneficially owned). As of March
27, 2009, we had a total of 26,326,172 shares of common stock
outstanding.
Name and Address
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Number
of Shares
Beneficially Owned
|
Percent
of Shares
Beneficially Owned
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Paul
H. Riss
Pervasip
Corp.
75
South Broadway, Suite 400
White
Plains, New York 10601
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2,985,334(1)
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11.06%
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Laurus
Capital Management, LLC
335
Madison Avenue, 10th
Floor
New
York, NY 10017
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2,629,985(2)
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9.08%
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|
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Mark
Richards
5955
T.G. Lee Blvd. Suite 100
Orlando,
Florida 32822
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1,110,000(3)
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4.06%
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Greg
M. Cooper
Cooper,
Niemann & Co., CPAs, LLP
PO
Box 190
Mongaup
Valley, New York 12762
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245,000(4)
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*
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Scott
Widham
9865
Litzsinger Road
St
Louis, Missouri 63124
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200,000(5)
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*
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Cherian
Mathai
75
South Broadway, Suite 400
White
Plains, New York 10601
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100,000(6)
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*
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All
directors and executive officers
as
a group (six individuals)
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4,640,334
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16.46%
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__________________
(1)
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Includes
100,000 shares of common stock subject to options and 560,000 shares of
common stock subject to warrants that are presently exercisable or
exercisable within 60 days after March 27,
2009.
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(2)
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Based
on 9.99% of the total of 26,326,172 shares of common stock outstanding as
of March 27, 2009. Certain warrants issued to Laurus Capital
Management, LLC and its affiliates (“Investors”) contain an issuance
limitation prohibiting the Investors from exercising or converting those
securities to the extent that such exercise would result in beneficial
ownership by the Investors of more than 9.99% of the shares then issued
and outstanding. Other warrants issued to the Investor group
contain an issuance limitation prohibiting the Investors from exercising
or converting those securities to the extent that such exercise would
result in beneficial ownership by the Investors of more than 4.99% of the
shares then issued and outstanding (the "4.99% Issuance
Limitation"). The 4.99% Issuance Limitation may be revoked upon
75 days notice and is automatically null and void upon an event of
default (as defined in and pursuant to the terms of the
applicable instrument). The 4.99% Issuance Limitation may be
waived by the Investors upon at least 61 days prior notice to us and shall
automatically become null and void following notice to us of the
occurrence and continuance of an event of default (as defined in and
pursuant to the terms of the applicable instrument). We have
not received any notices from the Investors that we are in
default. In total, the Investors possess warrants that allow
them to purchase up to 159,852,573 shares of common stock, or
approximately 80% of the fully diluted shares of common stock
outstanding.
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(3)
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Includes
1,000,000 shares of common stock subject to options that are presently
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after March 27,
2009.
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(4)
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Includes
205,000 shares of common stock subject to options that are presently
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after March 27,
2009.
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(5)
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Includes
200,000 shares of common stock subject to options that are presently
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after March 27,
2009.
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(6)
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Includes
100,000 shares of common stock subject to options that are presently
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after March 27,
2009.
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ELECTION
OF DIRECTORS
(Proxy
Item 1)
Our
amended and restated by-laws provide that the number of our directors shall be
at least three, except that when all the shares are owned beneficially and of
record by fewer than three shareholders, the number of directors may be less
than three but not less than the number of shareholders. Subject to
the foregoing limitation, such number may be fixed from time to time by action
of our board of directors or of the shareholders, or, if the number of directors
is not so fixed, the number shall be five. In March 2005, our board
of directors fixed the number of directors at five. The board
currently consists of five members, and all of those members are standing for
re-election. The term of office of the directors is one year,
expiring on the date of the next annual meeting, or when their respective
successors shall have been elected and shall qualify, or upon their prior death,
resignation or removal.
Except
where the authority to do so has been withheld, it is intended that the persons
named in the enclosed proxy will vote for the election of the nominees to our
board of directors listed below to serve until the date of the next annual
meeting and until their successors are duly elected and
qualified. Although our directors have no reason to believe that the
nominees will be unable or decline to serve, in the event that such a
contingency should arise, the accompanying proxy will be voted for a substitute
(or substitutes) designated by our board of directors.
Directors
and Officers
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding our director nominees,
as furnished by the nominees as of March 27, 2009. All of the
following individuals currently serve as directors of our company.
Name
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Age
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Principal
Occupation for Past Five Years and
Current Public Directorships or
Trusteeships
|
|
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Paul
H. Riss
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53
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Director
since 1995; Chairman of our board of directors since March 2005; our Chief
Executive Officer since August 1999 and our Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer since November 1996.
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Greg
M Cooper
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49
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Director
since April 2004; partner for more than five years of Cooper, Niemann
& Co., CPAs, LLP, certified public accountants; member of the board of
directors of Mid Hudson Cooperative Insurance Company in Montgomery, New
York, a privately-held insurance company.
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Mark
Richards
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49
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Director
since January 2008; Chief Information Officer of VoX Communications Corp.,
our wholly owned subsidiary, since October 2004. Prior to
joining VoX Communications, Mr. Richards served as the Chief Operating
Officer of Volo Communications, a voice-over-Internet company from March
2004 to August 2004, and as the Acting Chief Executive Officer for Epicus
Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier, from September 2000
to January 2004.
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Cherian
Mathai
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52
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Director
since March 27, 2008. He is the President of Sophia Associates
Inc., a management consulting and advisory firm since 2007. Mr.
Mathai co-founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer of Tralliance
Corporation, the registry for .travel Internet Top Level Domain from
January 2002 to June 2007. Prior to co-founding Tralliance
Corporation, he co-founded fare one, Inc., an Internet-based tool for
travel agents for instantaneous published fare comparisons, and served as
its Chief Financial Officer.
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Scott
Widham
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51
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Director
since March 27, 2008. He is a Principal in CAS, LLC, a
technology and telecom consulting company since 2007. Prior to commencing
at CAS, Mr. Widham served from 2001 to 2007as the President – Sales and
Marketing, the President – Corporate Development and the Co-CEO of
Broadwing Corporation, a voice, data and video service provider acquired
by Level 3. Mr. Widham serves on the board of directors of
Priva Technologies, Stages and Game
Rail.
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Vote
Required
Assuming
a quorum is present, a plurality of the votes cast at the annual meeting of
shareholders by the shareholders entitled to vote in the election, either in
person or by proxy, is required to elect the director nominees.
Our board
of directors recommends a vote FOR the election of each of
the nominees listed above.
DIRECTORS
AND OFFICERS
Biographical
information concerning our directors and officers is set forth above under the
caption “Election of Directors – Directors and Officers”.
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section
16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”),
requires our directors and executive officers, and persons who own more than ten
percent of a registered class of our equity securities (“10% Shareholders”), to
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) initial
reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our common stock and
other equity securities. Officers, directors and 10% Shareholders are required
by Commission regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms
they file.
Based
solely on our review of the copies of such reports received by us, we believe
that for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2008, all Section 16(a) filing
requirements applicable to our officers, directors and 10% shareholders were
complied with, except for two directors, Cherian Mathai and Scott Widham, who
did not file a an Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership of Securities on
Form 3 on a timely basis.
Board
Meetings and Committees; Management Matters
Our board
of directors held nine meetings during the fiscal year ended November 30,
2008. During fiscal 2008, each director attended at least 75% of the
board of directors and committee meetings of which he was a member during such
time as he served as a director. We do not have a formal policy
regarding attendance by members of our board of directors at the annual meeting
of shareholders, and we strongly encourage all members of our board of directors
to attend the annual meeting of shareholders. However, to minimize
travel costs, we have asked our out-of-state directors to attend the May 13,
2009 meeting telephonically rather than in person.
Two of
the members of our board of directors at the time of the 2007 annual meeting of
shareholders were in attendance at the 2007 annual meeting of shareholders held
on June 7, 2007. Our out-of-town directors did not
attend. From time to time, the members of our board of directors act
by unanimous written consent pursuant to the laws of the State of New
York. No fees are paid to directors for attendance at meetings of the
board of directors.
Compensation
Committee
We have a compensation committee
currently composed of Greg M Cooper and Scott Widham. Mr. Widham is
the Chairman of the committee. The compensation committee establishes
remuneration levels for our executive officers. The compensation
committee did not meet during the fiscal year ended November 30,
2008.
Nominating
Committee
Our board
of directors does not have a nominating committee. Our entire board
of directors is responsible for this function. Due to the relatively
small size of our company and the resulting efficiency of a board of directors
that is also limited in size, our board of directors has determined that it is
not necessary or appropriate at this time to establish a separate nominating
committee. Our board of directors intends to review periodically
whether such a nominating committee should be established.
Our board
of directors uses a variety of methods for identifying and evaluating nominees
for director. It regularly assesses the appropriate size of the board
of directors, and whether any vacancies exist or are expected due to retirement
or otherwise. If vacancies exist, are anticipated or otherwise arise, our board
of directors considers various potential candidates for
director. Candidates may come to their attention through current
members of our board of directors, shareholders or other
persons. These candidates are evaluated at regular or special
meetings of our board of directors, and may be considered at any point during
the year. Our board of directors will consider candidates for
director that are nominated by shareholders in accordance with the procedures
regarding the inclusion of shareholder proposals in proxy materials set forth in
the section entitled “Shareholder Proposals” in this proxy
statement. In evaluating such recommendations, our board of directors
uses the qualifications and standards discussed below and seeks to achieve a
balance of knowledge, experience and capability on our board of
directors.
Qualifications
for consideration as a director nominee may vary according to the particular
areas of expertise that may be desired in order to complement the qualifications
that already exist among our board of directors. Among the factors
that our directors consider when evaluating proposed nominees are their
independence, financial literacy, business experience, character, judgment and
strategic vision. Other considerations would be their knowledge of
issues affecting our business, their leadership experience and their time
available for meetings and consultation on company matters. Our
directors seek a diverse group of candidates who possess the background skills
and expertise to make a significant contribution to our board of directors, our
company and our shareholders.
Audit
Committee
We have
an audit committee that, during the fiscal year ended November 30, 2008, was
composed of Greg M Cooper, Cherian Mathai and Scott Widham. Each
audit committee member is an independent director as defined by the rules of the
National Association of Securities Dealers. The audit committee is
governed by a written charter approved by our board of directors and attached as
Annex A to our 2007 proxy statement, which was filed with the Commission on May
15, 2007.
Our board
of directors has determined that Greg M Cooper qualifies as an “audit committee
financial expert,” as defined under the rules of the Commission adopted pursuant
to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our board of directors has
determined that Mr. Mathai and Mr. Widham are financially literate and
experienced in business matters and fully qualified to monitor the performance
of management, the public disclosures by our company of our financial condition
and performance, our internal accounting operations, and our independent
auditors.
Report
of the Audit Committee
The audit
committee reviews our financial reporting process on behalf of our board of
directors. Management has the primary responsibility for the
financial statements and the reporting process, including the system of internal
controls. The independent auditors are responsible for performing an
independent audit of the consolidated financial statements to ensure that those
statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles and report thereon to our board of directors. The audit
committee reviews and monitors these processes.
Within
this framework, the audit committee has reviewed and discussed the audited
financial statements with management and the independent
auditors. Management has affirmed to the audit committee that our
consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. The audit committee has discussed with the
independent auditors those matters required to be discussed by Statement of
Auditing Standards No. 61 (Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards, AU
§ 380).
In
addition, the audit committee has received the written disclosures and the
letter from the independent auditors required by Independence Standards Board
Standard No. 1 (Independent Standards Board Standard No. 1, Independence
Discussions with Audit Committees), and has also discussed with the independent
auditors, the auditor’s independence from management and our
company. In connection with the new standards for independence of our
independent auditors promulgated by the Commission, the audit committee has
undertaken to consider whether the provision of any non-audit services (such as
internal audit assistance and tax-related services) by our independent auditors
is compatible with maintaining the independence of the independent auditors when
the independent auditors are also engaged to provide non-audit
services.
The audit
committee also discussed with our independent auditors the overall scope and
plans for their audit, their evaluation of our internal controls and the overall
quality of our financial reporting.
In
reliance on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the audit committee
has recommended to the board of directors that the audited consolidated
financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the
year ended November 30, 2008, which was filed with the Commission on March 2,
2009.
Audit
Committee
Greg M
Cooper, Member
Cherian
Mathai, Member
Scott
Widham, Member
Shareholder
Communications
Our board
of directors has implemented a process for our shareholders to send
communications to our board of directors. Any shareholder desiring to
communicate with our board of directors, or with specific individual directors,
may do so by writing to Mr. Eric M. Hellige, Corporate Secretary, at Pervasip
Corp., 75 South Broadway, Suite 400, White Plains, New
York 10601. The Corporate Secretary has the authority to
disregard any inappropriate communications or to take other appropriate actions
with respect to any such inappropriate communications. If deemed an
appropriate communication, the Corporate Secretary will submit a shareholder’s
correspondence to the Chairman of the board of directors or to any specific
director to whom the correspondence is directed.
Code
of Ethics
We have
adopted a code of business conduct and ethics for our directors, officers and
employees, including our chief executive officer and chief financial
officer. In addition, we have adopted a supplemental code of ethics
for our financial executives and all employees in our accounting
department. The text of our codes are posted on our Internet website
at www.pervasip.com.
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
Summary
of Cash and Certain Other Compensation
The
following table sets forth, for the fiscal years indicated, all compensation
awarded to, earned by or paid to Mr. Paul H. Riss, our Chairman, Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Mark Richards, our Chief Information
Officer (collectively, the “Named Executives”). We have no other
executive officers.
Fiscal
2008 Summary Compensation Table
Name
and Principal Position
|
|
Year
|
|
Salary
($)
|
|
Bonus
($)
|
|
Stock
Awards
($)(1)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)(2)
|
|
Non-equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensation
($)
|
|
Change
in
Pension
Value
and
Non-Qualified
Deferred
Comp
Earnings
($)
|
|
All
Other
Compensation
($)(3)
|
|
Total
($)
|
|
Paul
H. Riss
Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer
and
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
|
2008
2007
2006
|
|
|
$175,000
175,000
150,000
|
|
|
$0
0
0
|
|
|
$0
0
0
|
|
|
$0
0
0
|
|
|
$0
0
0
|
|
|
$0
0
0
|
|
|
$0
0
0
|
|
|
$175,000
175,000
150,000
|
|
Mark
Richards
Chief Information Officer
|
|
|
2008
2007
2006
|
|
|
125,000
125,000
120,000
|
|
|
0
0
0
|
|
|
0
0
0
|
|
|
5,782
69,380
69,380
|
|
|
0
0
0
|
|
|
0
0
0
|
|
|
60,000
60,000
60,000
|
|
|
190,782
254,380
249,380
|
|
|
(1)
|
Amounts
in this column reflect the expense recognized for financial reporting
purposes for the indicated fiscal year, in accordance with FAS 123R,
with respect to awards of restricted shares of common stock, which may
include awards made during earlier years as well as the indicated year. No
individual grants of restricted shares were made during fiscal years 2008,
2007 and 2006.
|
|
(2)
|
Amounts
in this column reflect the expense recognized for financial reporting
purposes for the indicated fiscal year, in accordance with FAS 123R,
with respect to awards of options to purchase common stock, which may
include awards made during earlier years as well as the indicated year.
For details of individual grants of options during 2008, please see the
"Options/SAR Grants" table below. Pursuant to SEC rules, in each case, the
amount of compensation expense was calculated excluding forfeiture
assumptions. The assumptions used to value awards and determine annual
compensation expense are set forth in Note 10 to the audited
financial statements included in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-KSB for the year ended November 30, 2008 filed with the SEC
on March 2, 2009.
|
|
(3)
|
Mr.
Richards received consulting fees from one of our vendors amounting to
$60,000 in each of fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006.
|
The
following table sets forth individual grants of stock options and stock
appreciation rights (“SARs”) made during fiscal 2008 to the Named
Executives.
Option/SAR
Grants In Last Fiscal Year
Name
|
Number
of Securities
Underlying
Options/
SARs
Granted(1)
|
Percent
of Total
Options/SARs
Granted
to
Employees in
Fiscal
Year(2)
|
Exercise
or Base
Price ($/Share)
|
Expiration
Date
|
Paul
H. Riss
|
1,894,441
|
17.7%
|
$0.30
|
11/17/2012
|
Mark
Richards
|
2,368,053
|
22.2%
|
$0.30
|
11/17/2012
|
_______________
(1)
|
No
SARs were granted in fiscal 2008.
|
(2)
|
In
fiscal 2008, we granted options to 15 employees, certain members of our
board of directors and two consultants to purchase an aggregate of
10,673,182 shares of our common
stock.
|
The
options granted to Mr. Riss and Mr. Richards are contingent stock options, which
vest only if we achieve positive cash flow from operations for three consecutive
months before the options expire in November 2012.
Stock
Option Exercises
The
following table contains information relating to the exercise of our stock
options by the Named Executives in fiscal 2008, as well as the number and value
of their unexercised options as of November 30, 200.
Aggregated
Option Exercises in Last Fiscal Year
and
Fiscal Year-End Option Values
|
Shares
Acquired
on
|
Value
|
Number
of Securities Underlying
Unexercised
Options at Fiscal Year-End(#)(1)
|
Value
of Unexercised In-the-Money
Options
at Fiscal Year-End ($)(2)
|
Name
|
Exercise (#)
|
Realized($)
|
Exercisable
|
Unexercisable
|
Exercisable
|
Unexercisable
|
Paul
H. Riss
|
--
|
--
|
100,000
|
1,894,441
|
$2,000
|
--
|
Mark
Richards
|
--
|
--
|
1,000,000
|
2,368,053
|
--
|
--
|
________________
(1)
|
The
sum of the numbers under the Exercisable and Unexercisable column of this
heading represents the Named Executives’ total outstanding options to
purchase shares of common stock.
|
(2)
|
The
dollar amounts shown under the Exercisable and Unexercisable columns of
the heading represent the number of exercisable and unexercisable options,
respectively, that were “In-the-Money” on November 30, 2008,
multiplied by the difference between the closing price of our common stock
on November 30, 2008, which was $0.20 per share, and the exercise
price of the options. For purposes of these calculations,
In-the-Money options are those with an exercise price below $0.20 per
share.
|
Board
of Directors Compensation
We do not
currently compensate directors for service on our board of
directors. We maintain a Non-Employee Director Stock Option Plan (the
“Director Option Plan”). Under the Director Option Plan, each
non-employee director is granted a non-statutory option to purchase 10,000
shares of our common stock on the date on which he or she is elected, re-elected
or appointed to our board of directors. Our existing directors were
last re-elected on June 7, 2007. Options granted pursuant to the
Director Option Plan will vest in full on the one-year anniversary of the grant
date, provided the non-employee director is still our director at that
time. The exercise price granted under the Director Option Plan is
100% of the fair market value per share of the common stock on the date of the
grant as reported on The OTC Bulletin Board.
The
following table provides information as of November 30, 2008 with respect to
shares of our common stock that are issuable under equity compensation
plans.
Plan
Category
|
|
Number
of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants
and rights
(a)
|
|
|
Weighted-average
exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights
(b)
|
|
|
Number
of Securities remaining available to future issuance under equity
compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column
(a))
(c)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1995
Stock Option Plan(1)
|
|
|
310,000 |
|
|
|
$0.40 |
|
|
|
- |
|
1996
Restricted Stock Plan(2)
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
400,000 |
|
2007
Equity Incentive Plan(3)
|
|
|
825,000 |
|
|
|
0.23 |
|
|
|
1,175,000 |
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
1,135,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,575,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
compensation plans not approved by security holders:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Employee
stock options
|
|
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
|
0.25 |
|
|
|
- |
|
2004
Equity Incentive Plan (3)
|
|
|
903,000 |
|
|
|
0.33 |
|
|
|
97,000 |
|
2007
Contingent Option Plan (4)
|
|
|
7,893,506 |
|
|
|
0.18 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Institutional
Marketing Services, Inc. (5)
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
0.63 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Investor
Relations International (5)
|
|
|
1,500,000 |
|
|
|
0.67 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Guilford
Securities, Inc. (6)
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
0.40 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Just
Our Luck, Inc. (7)
|
|
|
750,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
Syntax
Group (7)
|
|
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
13,246,506 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
97,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
14,381,506 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,672,000 |
|
_________________
(1)
|
Options
are no longer issuable under our 1995 Stock Option
Plan.
|
(2)
|
Our
Restricted Stock Plan provides for the issuance of restricted share grants
to officers and non-officer
employees.
|
(3)
|
Our
2004 Equity Incentive Plan and our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan allow for
the granting of share options to members of our board of directors,
officers, non-officer employees and
consultants.
|
(4)
|
The
contingent options vest only if three consecutive months of positive cash
flow from operations is achieved before their expiration in November
2012.
|
(5)
|
Warrants
were issued for investor relations
services.
|
(6)
|
Warrants
were issued for consulting
services.
|
(7)
|
Contingent
options vest only if various monthly revenue levels are
exceeded.
|
ADOPTION
OF THE PERVASIP CORP. 2009 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
(Proxy
Item 2)
General
In
connection with the July 2005 expiration of our 1995 Stock Option Plan, adopted
in July 1995 (the “1995 Plan”) and because our board of directors wishes to
allow for the possibility of providing incentives to employees and consultants
of our company in excess of the 3,000,000 shares of common stock that may be
granted pursuant to our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2004 Plan”) and our
2007 Equity Incentive Plan (“the 2007 Plan”), our board of directors adopted at
its meeting on February 27, 2009, the Pervasip Corp. 2009 Equity Incentive Plan
(the “2009 Incentive Plan”), a copy of which is attached to this proxy statement
as Annex A. The 2009 Incentive Plan gives us the ability to grant
stock options, SARs and restricted stock (collectively, “Awards”) to employees
or consultants of our company or of any subsidiary of our company and to
non-employee members of our advisory board or our board of directors or the
board of directors of any of our subsidiaries. Our board of directors
believes that adoption of the 2009 Incentive Plan is in the best interests of
our company and our shareholders because the ability to grant stock options and
make other stock-based awards under the 2009 Incentive Plan is an important
factor in attracting, stimulating and retaining qualified and distinguished
personnel with proven ability and vision to serve as employees, officers,
consultants or members of the board of directors or advisory board of our
company and our subsidiaries, and to chart our course towards continued growth
and financial success. Therefore, our board of directors views the
2009 Incentive Plan as a key component of our compensation program.
As of
March 27, 2009, under the 1995 Plan, no shares of our common stock remained
available for future grants and 310,000 shares of our common stock were reserved
for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options. As of March
27, 2009, under the 2004 Plan, 93,000 shares of our common stock remained
available for future grants and 903,000 shares of our common stock were reserved
for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options. As of March
27, 2009, under the 2007 Plan, 1,175,000 shares of our common stock remained
available for future grants and 825,000 shares of our common stock were reserved
for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options. The weighted average
exercise price of all options, warrants and rights outstanding as of March 27,
2009 was $0.11 per share.
Summary
of the Provisions of the 2009 Incentive Plan
The
following summary briefly describes the material features of the 2009 Incentive
Plan and is qualified, in its entirety, by the specific language of the 2009
Incentive Plan, a copy of which is attached to this proxy statement as Annex
A.
Shares
Available
Our board
of directors has authorized 5,000,000 shares of our common stock for issuance
under the 2009 Incentive Plan. In the event of any stock dividend,
stock split, reverse stock split, share combination, recapitalization, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, split-up, reorganization, rights offering, liquidation,
or any similar change event of or by our company, appropriate adjustments will
be made to the shares subject to the 2007 Incentive Plan and to any outstanding
Awards. Shares available for Awards under the 2007 Incentive Plan may
be either newly-issued shares or treasury shares.
In
certain circumstances, shares subject to an outstanding Award may again become
available for issuance pursuant to other Awards available under the 2009
Incentive Plan. For example, shares subject to forfeited, terminated,
canceled or expired Awards will again become available for future grants under
the 2007 Incentive Plan. In addition, shares subject to an Award that
are withheld by us to satisfy tax withholding obligations shall also be made
available for future grants under the 2009 Incentive Plan.
Administration
The 2009
Incentive Plan is administered by the stock option committee of our board of
directors or such other committee as may be appointed by our board of directors
to administer the 2009 Incentive Plan or if such a committee is not appointed or
unable to act, then our entire board of directors (the
“Committee”). The Committee will consist of at least two members who
are non-employee directors within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange
Act. With respect to the participation of individuals who are subject
to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, the 2009 Incentive Plan is administered in
compliance with the requirements of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange
Act. Subject to the provisions of the 2009 Incentive Plan, the
Committee determines the persons to whom grants of options, SARs and shares of
restricted stock are to be made, the number of shares of common stock to be
covered by each grant and all other terms and conditions of the
grant. If an option is granted, the Committee determines whether the
option is an incentive stock option or a nonstatutory stock option, the option’s
term, vesting and exercisability, the amount and type of consideration to be
paid to our company upon the option’s exercise and the other terms and
conditions of the grant. The terms and conditions of restricted stock
and SAR Awards are also determined by the Committee. The Committee
has the responsibility to interpret the 2009 Incentive Plan and to make
determinations with respect to all Awards granted under the 2009 Incentive
Plan. All determinations of the Committee are final and binding on
all persons having an interest in the 2009 Incentive Plan or in any Award made
under the 2009 Incentive Plan. The costs and expenses of
administering the 2009 Incentive Plan are borne by our company.
Eligibility
Eligible
individuals include our and our subsidiaries’ employees (including our and our
subsidiaries’ officers and directors who are also employees) or consultants
whose efforts, in the judgment of the Committee, are deemed worthy of
encouragement to promote our growth and success. Non-employee
directors of our board of directors are also eligible to participate in the 2009
Incentive Plan. All eligible individuals may receive one or more
Awards under the Plan, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the 2009
Incentive Plan. Currently, approximately 40 individuals are eligible
to receive Awards under the 2009 Incentive Plan. Of this total,
approximately 35 individuals are employees and two individuals are non-employee
directors. At this time, there are three individuals who are
consultants that are eligible to receive Awards under the 2009 Incentive
Plan. There is no assurance that an otherwise eligible individual
will be selected by the Committee to receive an Award under the 2009 Incentive
Plan.
Because
future Awards under the 2009 Incentive Plan will be granted in the discretion of
the Committee, the type, number, recipients and other terms of such Awards
cannot be determined at this time. Information regarding our recent
practices with respect to annual, long-term and stock-based compensation under
other plans and stock options under such plans is presented above in this proxy
statement. See “Executive Compensation” herein and note 10 to our
financial statements for the year ended November 30, 2006 in our Annual Report
on Form 10-KSB that accompanies this proxy statement.
Stock
Options and SARs
Under the
2009 Incentive Plan, the Committee is authorized to grant both stock options and
SARs. Stock options may be either designated as non-qualified stock
options or incentive stock options. Incentive stock options, which
are intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue
Code such that a participant can receive potentially favorable tax treatment,
may only be granted to employees. Therefore, any stock option granted
to consultants and non-employee directors are non-qualified stock
options. The tax treatment of incentive and non-qualified stock
options is generally described later in this summary. SARs may be
granted either alone or in tandem with a stock option. A SAR entitles
the participant to receive the excess, if any, of the fair market value of a
share on the exercise date over the strike price of the SAR. This
amount is payable in cash, except that the Committee may provide in an Award
agreement that benefits may be paid in shares of our common stock. In
general, if a SAR is granted in tandem with an option, the exercise of the
option will cancel the SAR, and the exercise of the SAR will cancel the
option. Any shares that are canceled will be made available for
future Awards. The Committee, in its sole discretion, determines the
terms and conditions of each stock option and SAR granted under the 2009
Incentive Plan, including the grant date, option or strike price (which, in no
event, will be less than the par value of a share), whether a SAR is paid in
cash or shares, the term of each option or SAR, exercise conditions and
restrictions, conditions of forfeitures, and any other terms, conditions and
restrictions consistent with the terms of the 2009 Incentive Plan, all of which
will be evidenced in an individual Award agreement between us and the
participant.
Certain
limitations apply to incentive stock options and SARs granted in tandem with
incentive stock options. The per share exercise price of an incentive
stock option may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of
our common stock on the date of the option’s grant and the term of any such
option shall expire not later than the tenth anniversary of the date of the
option’s grant. In addition, the per share exercise price of any
option granted to a person who, at the time of the grant, owns stock possessing
more than 10% of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of our
stock must be at least 110% of the fair market value of a share of our common
stock on the date of grant and such option shall expire not later than the fifth
anniversary of the date of the option’s grant.
Options
and SARs granted under the 2009 Incentive Plan become exercisable at such times
as may be specified by the Committee. In general, options and SARs
granted to participants become exercisable in three equal annual installments,
subject to the optionee’s continued employment or service with
us. However, the aggregate value (determined as of the grant date) of
the shares subject to incentive stock options that may become exercisable by a
participant in any year may not exceed $100,000. If a SAR is granted
in tandem with an option, the SAR will become exercisable at the same time or
times as the option becomes exercisable.
The
maximum term of options and SARs granted under the 2009 Incentive Plan is ten
years. If any participant terminates employment due to death or
disability or retirement, the portion of his or her option or SAR Awards that
were exercisable at the time of such termination may be exercised for one year
from the date of termination. In the case of any other termination,
the portion of his or her option or SAR Awards that were exercisable at the time
of such termination may be exercised for three months from the date of
termination. However, if the remainder of the option or SAR term is
shorter than the applicable post-termination exercise period, the participant’s
rights to exercise the option or SAR will expire at the end of the
term. In addition, if a participant’s service terminates due to
cause, all rights under an option or SAR will immediately expire, including
rights to the exercisable portion of the option or SAR. Shares
attributable to an option or SAR that expire without being exercised will be
forfeited by the participant and will again be available for Award under the
2009 Incentive Plan.
Unless
limited by the Committee in an Award agreement, payment for shares purchased
pursuant to an option exercise may be made (i) in cash, check or wire transfer,
(ii) subject to the Committee’s approval, in shares already owned by the
participant (including restricted shares held by the participant at least six
months prior to the exercise of the option) valued at their fair market value on
the date of exercise, or (iii) through broker-assisted cashless exercise
procedures.
Restricted
Stock
Under the
2009 Incentive Plan, the Committee is also authorized to make Awards of
restricted stock. A restricted stock Award entitles the participant
to all of the rights of a shareholder of our company, including the right to
vote the shares and the right to receive any dividends. However, the
Committee may require the payment of cash dividends to be deferred and if the
Committee so determines, re-invested in additional shares of restricted
stock. Before the end of a restricted period and/or lapse of other
restrictions established by the Committee, shares received as restricted stock
shall contain a legend restricting their transfer, and may be forfeited (i) in
the event of termination of employment, (ii) if our company or the participant
does not achieve specified performance goals after the grant date and before the
participant’s termination of employment or (iii) upon the failure to achieve
other conditions set forth in the Award agreement.
An Award
of restricted stock will be evidenced by a written agreement between us and the
participant. The Award agreement will specify the number of shares of
our common stock subject to the Award, the nature and/or length of the
restrictions, the conditions that will result in the automatic and complete
forfeiture of the shares and the time and manner in which the restrictions will
lapse, subject to the Award holder’s continued employment by us, and any other
terms and conditions the Committee shall impose consistent with the provisions
of the 2009 Incentive Plan. The Committee also determines the amount,
if any, that the participant shall pay for the shares of restricted
stock. However, the participant must be required to pay at least the
par value for each share of restricted stock. Upon the lapse of the
restrictions, any legends on the shares of our common stock subject to the Award
will be re-issued to the participant without such legend.
Unless
the Committee determines otherwise in the Award or other agreement, if a
participant terminates employment for any reason, all rights to restricted stock
that are then forfeitable will be forfeited. Restricted stock that is
forfeited by the participant will again be available for Award under the 2009
Incentive Plan.
Fair
Market Value
Under the
2009 Incentive Plan, fair market value means the fair market value of the shares
based upon the closing selling price of a share of our common stock as quoted on
any national securities exchange or the OTC Bulletin Board on the relevant
date. If there is no closing selling price on the relevant date, then
the fair market value shall mean the closing selling price on the last preceding
date for which such quotation exists. If shares are not readily
tradable on a national securities exchange or other market system, fair market
value means an amount determined in good faith by the Committee to be the fair
market value of the shares.
Transferability
Restrictions
Generally
and unless otherwise provided in an Award agreement, shares or rights subject to
an Award cannot be assigned or transferred other than by will or by the laws of
descent and distribution and Awards may be exercised during the participant’s
lifetime only by the participant or his or her guardian or legal
representative. However, a participant may, if permitted by the
Committee, in its sole discretion, transfer an Award, or any portion thereof, to
one or more of the participant’s spouse, children or grandchildren, or may
designate in writing a beneficiary to exercise an Award after his or her
death.
Termination
or Amendment of the 2009 Incentive Plan
Unless
sooner terminated, no Awards may be granted under the 2009 Incentive Plan after
February 27, 2019. Our board of directors may amend or terminate the
2009 Incentive Plan at any time, but our board of directors may not, without
shareholder approval, amend the 2009 Incentive Plan to increase the total number
of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance of Awards. In
addition, any amendment or modification of the 2009 Incentive Plan shall be
subject to shareholder approval as required by any securities exchange on which
our common stock is listed. No amendment or termination may deprive
any participant of any rights under Awards previously made under the 2009
Incentive Plan.
Summary
of Federal Income Tax Consequences of the 2007 Incentive Plan
The
following summary is intended only as a general guide as to the federal income
tax consequences under current law with respect to participation in the 2009
Incentive Plan and does not attempt to describe all possible federal or other
tax consequences of such participation. Furthermore, the tax
consequences of awards made under the 2009 Incentive Plan are complex and
subject to change, and a taxpayer’s particular situation may be such that some
variation of the described rules is applicable.
Options
and SARs
There are
three points in time when a participant and our company could potentially incur
federal income tax consequences: date of grant, upon exercise and upon
disposition. First, when an option or a SAR is granted to a
participant, the participant does not recognize any income for federal income
tax purposes on the date of grant. We similarly do not have any
federal income tax consequences at the date of grant. Second,
depending upon the type of option, the exercise of an option may or may not
result in the recognition of income for federal income tax
purposes. With respect to an incentive stock option, a participant
will not recognize any ordinary income upon the option’s exercise (except that
the alternative minimum tax may apply). However, a participant will
generally recognize ordinary income upon the exercise of a non-qualified stock
option. In this case, the participant will recognize income equal to
the difference between the option price and the fair market value of shares
purchased pursuant to the option on the date of exercise. With
respect to the exercise of a SAR, the participant must generally recognize
ordinary income equal to the cash received (or, if applicable, value of the
shares received).
Incentive
stock options are subject to certain holding requirements before a participant
can dispose of the shares purchased pursuant to the exercise of the option and
receive capital gains treatment on any income realized from the exercise of the
option. Satisfaction of the holding periods determines the tax
treatment of any income realized upon exercise. If a participant
disposes of shares acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock option before
the end of the applicable holding periods (called a “disqualifying
disposition”), the participant must generally recognize ordinary income equal to
the lesser of (i) the fair market value of the shares at the date of exercise of
the incentive stock option minus the exercise price or (ii) the amount realized
upon the disposition of the shares minus the exercise price. Any
excess of the fair market value on the date of such disposition over the fair
market value on the date of exercise must be recognized as capital gains by the
participant. If a participant disposes of shares acquired upon the
exercise of an incentive stock option after the applicable holding periods have
expired, such disposition generally will result in long-term capital gain or
loss measured by the difference between the sale price and the participant’s tax
“basis” in such shares (generally, in such case, the tax “basis” is the exercise
price).
Generally,
we will be entitled to a tax deduction in an amount equal to the amount
recognized as ordinary income by the participant in connection with the exercise
of options and SARs. However, we are generally not entitled to a tax
deduction relating to amounts that represent capital gains to a
participant. Accordingly, if the participant satisfies the requisite
holding period with respect to an incentive stock option before disposition to
receive the favorable tax treatment accorded incentive stock options, we will
not be entitled to any tax deduction with respect to an incentive stock
option. In the event the participant has a disqualifying disposition
with respect to an incentive stock option, we will be entitled to a tax
deduction in an amount equal to the amount that the participant recognized as
ordinary income.
Restricted
Stock Awards
A
participant will not be required to recognize any income for federal income tax
purposes upon the grant of shares of restricted stock. With respect
to Awards involving shares or other property, such as restricted stock Awards,
that contain restrictions as to their transferability and are subject to a
substantial risk of forfeiture, the participant must generally recognize
ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the shares or other property
received at the time the shares or other property become transferable or are no
longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, whichever occurs
first. We generally will be entitled to a deduction in an amount
equal to the ordinary income recognized by the participant. A
participant may elect to be taxed at the time he or she receives shares (e.g., restricted stock) or
other property rather than upon the lapse of transferability restrictions or the
substantial risk of forfeiture. However, if the participant
subsequently forfeits such shares he or she would not be entitled to any tax
deduction or, to recognize a loss, for the value of the shares or property on
which he or she previously paid tax. Alternatively, if an Award that
results in a transfer to the participant of cash, shares or other property does
not contain any restrictions as to their transferability and is not subject to a
substantial risk of forfeiture, the participant must generally recognize
ordinary income equal to the cash or the fair market value of shares or other
property actually received. We generally will be entitled to a
deduction for the same amount.
Vote
Required
Assuming
a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the
annual meeting of shareholders, either in person or by proxy, is required for
approval of this proposal.
Our board
of directors recommends a vote FOR approval of the proposed
adoption of our 2009 Equity Incentive Plan.
ADOPTION
OF THE PERVASIP CORP 2007 CONTINGENT STOCK OPTION PLAN
(Proxy
Item 3)
Our board
of directors has authorized 7,893,506 shares of our common stock for issuance
under the 2007 Contingent Stock Option Plan (the “2007 Contingent
Plan.”). These options vest only if the we are able to generate
positive cash flow from operations for three consecutive months before the
options expire in November 2012. Our board of directors wishes to
allow for the possibility of providing incentives to employees and consultants
of our company to reach a cash flow positive level, and has adopted at its
meeting on November 17, 2007 the Pervasip Corp. 2007 Contingent Stock Option
Plan (the “2007 Contingent Plan”), which was subsequently amended at a meeting
of our board of directors on September 22, 2008. A copy of the 2007 Contingent
Plan is attached to this proxy statement as Annex B. The 2007
Contingent Plan gives us the ability to grant stock options, SARs and restricted
stock (collectively, “Awards”) to employees or consultants of our company or of
any subsidiary of our company and to non-employee members of our advisory board
or our board of directors or the board of directors of any of our
subsidiaries. Our board of directors believes that adoption of the
2007 Contingent Plan is in the best interests of our company and our
shareholders because the ability to grant stock options and make other
stock-based awards under the 2007 Contingent Plan is an important factor in
attracting, stimulating and retaining qualified and distinguished personnel with
proven ability and vision to serve as employees, officers, consultants or
members of the board of directors or advisory board of our company and our
subsidiaries, and to chart our course towards continued growth and financial
success. Therefore, our board of directors views the 2007 Contingent
Plan as a key component of our compensation program.
As
discussed above, as of March 27, 2009, under the 1995 Plan, no shares of our
common stock remained available for future grants and 310,000 shares of our
common stock were reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding
options. As of March 27, 2009, under the 2004 Plan, 93,000 shares of
our common stock remained available for future grants and 903,000 shares of our
common stock were reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding
options. As of March 27, 2009, under the 2007 Plan, 1,175,000 shares
of our common stock remained available for future grants and 825,000 shares of
our common stock were allocated to outstanding options. The weighted average
exercise price of all options, warrants and rights outstanding as of March 27,
2009 was $0.11 per share.
Summary
of the Provisions of the 2007 Contingent Plan
The
following summary briefly describes the material features of the 2007 Contingent
Plan and is qualified, in its entirety, by the specific language of the 2007
Contingent Plan, a copy of which is attached to this proxy statement as Annex
B.
Shares
Available
Our board
of directors has authorized 7,893,506 shares of our common stock for issuance
under the 2007 Contingent Plan. In the event of any stock dividend,
stock split, reverse stock split, share combination, recapitalization, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, split-up, reorganization, rights offering, liquidation,
or any similar change event of or by our company, appropriate adjustments will
be made to the shares subject to the 2007 Contingent Plan and to any outstanding
Awards. Shares available for Awards under the 2007 Contingent Plan
may be either newly-issued shares or treasury shares.
In
certain circumstances, shares subject to an outstanding Award may again become
available for issuance pursuant to other Awards available under the 2007
Contingent Plan. For example, shares subject to forfeited,
terminated, canceled or expired Awards will again become available for future
grants under the 2007 Contingent Plan. In addition, shares subject to
an Award that are withheld by us to satisfy tax withholding obligations shall
also be made available for future grants under the 2007 Contingent
Plan.
Administration
The 2007
Contingent Plan is administered by the stock option committee of our board of
directors or such other committee as may be appointed by our board of directors
to administer the 2007 Contingent Plan or if such a committee is not appointed
or unable to act, then our entire board of directors (the
“Committee”). The Committee will consist of at least two members who
are non-employee directors within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange
Act. With respect to the participation of individuals who are subject
to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, the 2007 Contingent Plan is administered in
compliance with the requirements of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange
Act. Subject to the provisions of the 2007 Contingent Plan, the
Committee determines the persons to whom grants of options, SARs and shares of
restricted stock are to be made, the number of shares of common stock to be
covered by each grant and all other terms and conditions of the
grant. If an option is granted, the Committee determines whether the
option is an incentive stock option or a nonstatutory stock option, the option’s
term, vesting and exercisability, the amount and type of consideration to be
paid to our company upon the option’s exercise and the other terms and
conditions of the grant. The terms and conditions of restricted stock
and SAR Awards are also determined by the Committee. The Committee
has the responsibility to interpret the 2007 Contingent Plan and to make
determinations with respect to all Awards granted under the 2007 Contingent
Plan. All determinations of the Committee are final and binding on
all persons having an interest in the 2007 Contingent Plan or in any Award made
under the 2007 Incentive Plan. The costs and expenses of
administering the 2007 Contingent Plan are borne by our company.
Eligibility
Eligible
individuals include our and our subsidiaries’ employees (including our and our
subsidiaries’ officers and directors who are also employees) or consultants
whose efforts, in the judgment of the Committee, are deemed worthy of
encouragement to promote our growth and success. Non-employee
directors of our board of directors are also eligible to participate in the 2007
Contingent Plan. All eligible individuals may receive one or more
Awards under the Plan, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the 2007
Contingent Plan. Currently, approximately 14 individuals are eligible
to receive Awards under the 2007 Contingent Plan. Of this total,
approximately 11 individuals are employees and three individuals are
non-employee directors. There is no assurance that an otherwise
eligible individual will be selected by the Committee to receive an Award under
the 2007 Contingent Plan.
Because
future Awards under the 2007 Contingent Plan will be granted in the discretion
of the Committee, the type, number, recipients and other terms of such Awards
cannot be determined at this time. Information regarding our recent
practices with respect to annual, long-term and stock-based compensation under
other plans and stock options under such plans is presented above in this proxy
statement. See “Executive Compensation” herein and note 10 to our
financial statements for the year ended November 30, 2008 in our Annual Report
on Form 10-KSB that accompanies this proxy statement.
Stock
Options and SARs
Under the
2007 Contingent Plan, the Committee is authorized to grant both stock options
and SARs. Stock options may be either designated as non-qualified
stock options or incentive stock options. Incentive stock options,
which are intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Internal
Revenue Code such that a participant can receive potentially favorable tax
treatment, may only be granted to employees. Therefore, any stock
option granted to consultants and non-employee directors are non-qualified stock
options. The tax treatment of incentive and non-qualified stock
options is generally described later in this summary. SARs may be
granted either alone or in tandem with a stock option. An SAR
entitles the participant to receive the excess, if any, of the fair market value
of a share on the exercise date over the strike price of the
SAR. This amount is payable in cash, except that the Committee may
provide in an Award agreement that benefits may be paid in shares of our common
stock. In general, if a SAR is granted in tandem with an option, the
exercise of the option will cancel the SAR, and the exercise of the SAR will
cancel the option. Any shares that are canceled will be made
available for future Awards. The Committee, in its sole discretion,
determines the terms and conditions of each stock option and SAR granted under
the 2007 Contingent Plan, including the grant date, option or strike price
(which, in no event, will be less than the par value of a share), whether a SAR
is paid in cash or shares, the term of each option or SAR, exercise conditions
and restrictions, conditions of forfeitures, and any other terms, conditions and
restrictions consistent with the terms of the 2007 Contingent Plan, all of which
will be evidenced in an individual Award agreement between us and the
participant.
Certain
limitations apply to incentive stock options and SARs granted in tandem with
incentive stock options. The per share exercise price of an incentive
stock option may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of
our common stock on the date of the option’s grant and the term of any such
option shall expire not later than the tenth anniversary of the date of the
option’s grant. In addition, the per share exercise price of any
option granted to a person who, at the time of the grant, owns stock possessing
more than 10% of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of our
stock must be at least 110% of the fair market value of a share of our common
stock on the date of grant and such option shall expire not later than the fifth
anniversary of the date of the option’s grant.
Options
and SARs granted under the 2007 Contingent Plan become exercisable at such times
as may be specified by the Committee. In general, options and SARs
granted to participants become exercisable in three equal annual installments,
subject to the optionee’s continued employment or service with
us. However, the aggregate value (determined as of the grant date) of
the shares subject to incentive stock options that may become exercisable by a
participant in any year may not exceed $100,000. If a SAR is granted
in tandem with an option, the SAR will become exercisable at the same time or
times as the option becomes exercisable.
The
maximum term of options and SARs granted under the 2007 Contingent Plan is ten
years. If any participant terminates employment due to death or
disability or retirement, the portion of his or her option or SAR Awards that
were exercisable at the time of such termination may be exercised for one year
from the date of termination. In the case of any other termination,
the portion of his or her option or SAR Awards that were exercisable at the time
of such termination may be exercised for three months from the date of
termination. However, if the remainder of the option or SAR term is
shorter than the applicable post-termination exercise period, the participant’s
rights to exercise the option or SAR will expire at the end of the
term. In addition, if a participant’s service terminates due to
cause, all rights under an option or SAR will immediately expire, including
rights to the exercisable portion of the option or SAR. Shares
attributable to an option or SAR that expire without being exercised will be
forfeited by the participant and will again be available for Award under the
2007 Contingent Plan.
Unless
limited by the Committee in an Award agreement, payment for shares purchased
pursuant to an option exercise may be made (i) in cash, check or wire transfer,
(ii) subject to the Committee’s approval, in shares already owned by the
participant (including restricted shares held by the participant at least six
months prior to the exercise of the option) valued at their fair market value on
the date of exercise, or (iii) through broker-assisted cashless exercise
procedures.
Restricted
Stock
Under the
2007 Contingent, the Committee is also authorized to make Awards of restricted
stock. A restricted stock Award entitles the Plan participant to all
of the rights of a shareholder of our company, including the right to vote the
shares and the right to receive any dividends. However, the Committee
may require the payment of cash dividends to be deferred and if the Committee so
determines, re-invested in additional shares of restricted
stock. Before the end of a restricted period and/or lapse of other
restrictions established by the Committee, shares received as restricted stock
shall contain a legend restricting their transfer, and may be forfeited (i) in
the event of termination of employment, (ii) if our company or the participant
does not achieve specified performance goals after the grant date and before the
participant’s termination of employment or (iii) upon the failure to achieve
other conditions set forth in the Award agreement.
An Award
of restricted stock will be evidenced by a written agreement between us and the
participant. The Award agreement will specify the number of shares of
our common stock subject to the Award, the nature and/or length of the
restrictions, the conditions that will result in the automatic and complete
forfeiture of the shares and the time and manner in which the restrictions will
lapse, subject to the Award holder’s continued employment by us, and any other
terms and conditions the Committee shall impose consistent with the provisions
of the 2007 Contingent Plan. The Committee also determines the
amount, if any, that the participant shall pay for the shares of restricted
stock. However, the participant must be required to pay at least the
par value for each share of restricted stock. Upon the lapse of the
restrictions, any legends on the shares of our common stock subject to the Award
will be re-issued to the participant without such legend.
Unless
the Committee determines otherwise in the Award or other agreement, if a
participant terminates employment for any reason, all rights to restricted stock
that are then forfeitable will be forfeited. Restricted stock that is
forfeited by the participant will again be available for Award under the 2007
Contingent Plan.
Fair
Market Value
Under the
2007 Contingent Plan, fair market value means the fair market value of the
shares based upon the closing selling price of a share of our common stock as
quoted on any national securities exchange or the OTC Bulletin Board on the
relevant date. If there is no closing selling price on the relevant
date, then the fair market value shall mean the closing selling price on the
last preceding date for which such quotation exists. If shares are
not readily tradable on a national securities exchange or other market system,
fair market value means an amount determined in good faith by the Committee to
be the fair market value of the shares.
Transferability
Restrictions
Generally
and unless otherwise provided in an Award agreement, shares or rights subject to
an Award cannot be assigned or transferred other than by will or by the laws of
descent and distribution and Awards may be exercised during the participant’s
lifetime only by the participant or his or her guardian or legal
representative. However, a participant may, if permitted by the
Committee, in its sole discretion, transfer an Award, or any portion thereof, to
one or more of the participant’s spouse, children or grandchildren, or may
designate in writing a beneficiary to exercise an Award after his or her
death.
Termination
or Amendment of the 2007 Contingent Plan
Unless
sooner terminated, no Awards may be granted under the 2007 Contingent Plan after
November 16, 2017. Our board of directors may amend or terminate the
2007 Contingent Plan at any time, but our board of directors may not, without
shareholder approval, amend the 2007 Contingent Plan to increase the total
number of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance of
Awards. In addition, any amendment or modification of the 2007
Contingent Plan shall be subject to shareholder approval as required by any
securities exchange on which our common stock is listed. No amendment
or termination may deprive any participant of any rights under Awards previously
made under the 2007 Contingent Plan.
Summary
of Federal Income Tax Consequences of the 2007 Contingent Plan
The
following summary is intended only as a general guide as to the federal income
tax consequences under current law with respect to participation in the 2007
Contingent Plan and does not attempt to describe all possible federal or other
tax consequences of such participation. Furthermore, the tax
consequences of awards made under the 2007 Contingent Plan are complex and
subject to change, and a taxpayer’s particular situation may be such that some
variation of the described rules is applicable.
Options
and SARs
There are
three points in time when a participant and our company could potentially incur
federal income tax consequences: date of grant, upon exercise and upon
disposition. First, when an option or a SAR is granted to a
participant, the participant does not recognize any income for federal income
tax purposes on the date of grant. We similarly do not have any
federal income tax consequences at the date of grant. Second,
depending upon the type of option, the exercise of an option may or may not
result in the recognition of income for federal income tax
purposes. With respect to an incentive stock option, a participant
will not recognize any ordinary income upon the option’s exercise (except that
the alternative minimum tax may apply). However, a participant will
generally recognize ordinary income upon the exercise of a non-qualified stock
option. In this case, the participant will recognize income equal to
the difference between the option price and the fair market value of shares
purchased pursuant to the option on the date of exercise. With
respect to the exercise of a SAR, the participant must generally recognize
ordinary income equal to the cash received (or, if applicable, value of the
shares received).
Incentive
stock options are subject to certain holding requirements before a participant
can dispose of the shares purchased pursuant to the exercise of the option and
receive capital gains treatment on any income realized from the exercise of the
option. Satisfaction of the holding periods determines the tax
treatment of any income realized upon exercise. If a participant
disposes of shares acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock option before
the end of the applicable holding periods (called a “disqualifying
disposition”), the participant must generally recognize ordinary income equal to
the lesser of (i) the fair market value of the shares at the date of exercise of
the incentive stock option minus the exercise price or (ii) the amount realized
upon the disposition of the shares minus the exercise price. Any
excess of the fair market value on the date of such disposition over the fair
market value on the date of exercise must be recognized as capital gains by the
participant. If a participant disposes of shares acquired upon the
exercise of an incentive stock option after the applicable holding periods have
expired, such disposition generally will result in long-term capital gain or
loss measured by the difference between the sale price and the participant’s tax
“basis” in such shares (generally, in such case, the tax “basis” is the exercise
price).
Generally,
we will be entitled to a tax deduction in an amount equal to the amount
recognized as ordinary income by the participant in connection with the exercise
of options and SARs. However, we are generally not entitled to a tax
deduction relating to amounts that represent capital gains to a
participant. Accordingly, if the participant satisfies the requisite
holding period with respect to an incentive stock option before disposition to
receive the favorable tax treatment accorded incentive stock options, we will
not be entitled to any tax deduction with respect to an incentive stock
option. In the event the participant has a disqualifying disposition
with respect to an incentive stock option, we will be entitled to a tax
deduction in an amount equal to the amount that the participant recognized as
ordinary income.
Restricted
Stock Awards
A
participant will not be required to recognize any income for federal income tax
purposes upon the grant of shares of restricted stock. With respect
to Awards involving shares or other property, such as restricted stock Awards,
that contain restrictions as to their transferability and are subject to a
substantial risk of forfeiture, the participant must generally recognize
ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the shares or other property
received at the time the shares or other property become transferable or are no
longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, whichever occurs
first. We generally will be entitled to a deduction in an amount
equal to the ordinary income recognized by the participant. A
participant may elect to be taxed at the time he or she receives shares (e.g., restricted stock) or
other property rather than upon the lapse of transferability restrictions or the
substantial risk of forfeiture. However, if the participant
subsequently forfeits such shares he or she would not be entitled to any tax
deduction or, to recognize a loss, for the value of the shares or property on
which he or she previously paid tax. Alternatively, if an Award that
results in a transfer to the participant of cash, shares or other property does
not contain any restrictions as to their transferability and is not subject to a
substantial risk of forfeiture, the participant must generally recognize
ordinary income equal to the cash or the fair market value of shares or other
property actually received. We generally will be entitled to a
deduction for the same amount.
Vote
Required
Assuming
a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the
annual meeting of shareholders, either in person or by proxy, is required for
approval of this proposal.
Our board
of directors recommends a vote FOR approval of the proposed
adoption of our 2007 Contingent Plan.
PROPOSAL
TO AMEND OUR CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
TO
INCREASE AUTHORIZED SHARES OF COMMON STOCK
(Proxy
Item 4)
Our board of directors has proposed an
amendment to Article FOURTH of our Certificate of Incorporation. This
amendment would increase the total number of shares of capital stock that we are
authorized to issue to two hundred fifty-one million (251,000,000), of which two
hundred-fifty million (250,000,000) shall be common stock, par value $.10 per
share, and one million (1,000,000) shall be preferred stock, par value $.10 per
share. No increase in the authorized number of shares of
preferred stock is requested.
Purpose
of Increasing Number of Authorized shares of Common Stock
We have a total of 26,026,172 shares of
common stock outstanding and no shares of preferred stock
outstanding. We also have outstanding warrants to purchase
165,069,808 shares of common stock and options and option plans for directors,
officers, consultants and employees to purchase 18,643,506 shares of common
stock. We therefore need to increase our authorized shares of common
stock above the currents amount of 150,000,000 in order to fulfill our
outstanding obligations. Furthermore, our lending agreement with our
primary lender requires that we increase our authorized shares to 250,000,000 by
May 15, 2009. If we are not in compliance with this lending
requirement by May 15, 2009, our lender could declare a default on our
promissory notes and require that we pay back such notes
immediately. We do not have the cash or credit facilities required to
pay off our primary lender, and therefore, if this proposal to increase our
authorized shares does not pass, we are at risk that our primary lender would
put us in default, charge us default interest rates and possibly seize and sell
our assets.
General
Corporate Purposes
In additional to the reasons set forth
above, the board of directors believes that the proposed increase is desirable
so that, as the need may arise, we will have more financial flexibility and be
able to issue additional shares of common stock without the expense and delay
associated with a special shareholders’ meeting, except where shareholder
approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange
regulations. The additional shares of common stock might be used, for
example, in connection with an expansion of our business through investments or
acquisitions, sold in a financing transaction or issued under an employee stock
option, savings or other benefit plan or in a stock split or dividend to
shareholders. The board of directors does not intend to issue any
shares except on terms that it considers to be in the best interests of the
company and its shareholders.
The additional shares of common stock
for which authorization is sought would be a part of the existing class of
common stock. If and when issued, these shares would have the same
rights and privileges as the shares of common stock presently
outstanding. No holder of common stock has any preemptive rights to
acquire additional shares of the common stock.
The issuance of additional shares could
reduce existing shareholders’ percentage ownership and voting power in our
company and, depending on the transaction in which they are issued, could affect
the per share book value or other per share financial measures.
Although the proposed amendment is not
intended to be an anti-takeover measure, shareholders should note that, under
certain circumstances, the additional shares of common stock could be used to
make any attempt to gain control of our company or the board of directors more
difficult or time-consuming. Any of the additional shares of common
stock could be privately placed with purchasers who might side with the board of
directors in opposing a hostile takeover bid. It is possible that
such shares could be sold with or without an option, on our part, to repurchase
such shares, or on the part of the purchaser, to put such shares to
us.
The amendment to increase the
authorized shares of common stock might be considered to have the effect of
discouraging an attempt by another person or entity, through the acquisition of
a substantial number of shares of our capital stock, to acquire control of us,
since the issuance of the additional shares of common stock could be used to
dilute the stock ownership of a person or entity seeking to obtain control and
to increase the cost to a person or entity seeking to acquire a majority of the
voting power of our company. If so used, the effect of the additional
authorized shares of common stock might be (i) to deprive shareholders of an
opportunity to sell their stock at a temporarily higher price as a result of a
tender offer or the purchase of shares by a person or entity seeking to obtain
control of us or (ii) to assist incumbent management in retaining its present
position.
Text
of Proposed Amendment
The first paragraph of Article FOURTH
of our Certificate of Incorporation is proposed to be amended to read as
follows:
“FOURTH: A. Authorized
Shares. The total number of shares of all classes of capital
stock which the Company shall have the authority to issue is two hundred
fifty-one million (251,000,000), of which two hundred-fifty million
(250,000,000) shall be common stock, par value $.10 per share, and one million
(1,000,000) shall be preferred stock, par value $.10 per share.”
A copy of the foregoing proposed
amendment is attached to this proxy statement as Annex C and is marked to show
changes from our current Certificate of Incorporation.
Vote
Required for Approval
The proposed amendment to the
Certificate of Incorporation to increase the total number of shares of capital
stock that we are authorized to issue will become effective only upon approval
by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock and the
filing of a Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation with
the Secretary of the State of New York, which filing is expected to take place
shortly after the annual meeting. If this proposed amendment is not
approved by the shareholders, then the language pertaining to this Proxy Item 4
will not be included in the Certificate of Amendment filed with the Secretary of
the State of New York.
Our board of directors recommends that
the shareholders vote FOR adoption of the proposed amendment to our Certificate
of Incorporation.
PROPOSAL
TO AMEND OUR CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
TO
EFFECT A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT OF UP TO TEN-FOR-ONE
(Proxy
Item 5)
Our board of directors has proposed an
amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to reverse split our common stock
as a means of increasing the share price of our common stock. This
amendment would decrease the total number of shares of capital stock outstanding
at a ratio of not less than 1-for-2 and not more than 1-for-10, and authorize
the Board of Directors to file such amendment, in its sole discretion, at any
time prior to the next annual meeting of shareholders of our Company to be held
after the close of the 2009 fiscal year.
Purpose
of effectuating a reverse split of shares of common stock
We have a total of 26,326,172 shares of
common stock outstanding and no shares of preferred stock
outstanding. Our stock has traded at a price of less than one dollar
for several years. Our board of directors believes that we should
obtain the right to implement a reverse stock split to enhance the desirability
and marketability of our common stock to the financial community and the
investing public. On a fully-diluted basis, which assumes that all
options and warrants that have been issued or reserved for under an option plan
are exercised, we have 209,739,486 shares of common stock
outstanding. If the board decides to implement a 1-for-10 reverse
split, then the total outstanding shares on a fully-diluted basis would be
20,973,949.
The
Reverse Stock Split
Our board of directors has considered
and approved a reverse stock split of up to 1-for-10 as a means of increasing
the share price of our common stock above $1.00. Certain
members of our board of directors have expressed reservations about implementing
the proposed reverse stock split because of the mixed history such actions have
had on companies in similar circumstances. Post reverse split, an
issuer's stock price may decline, which would reduce substantially the overall
market capitalization of such issuer, as opposed to a similar price decline
prior to such reverse stock split. Nonetheless, our board of directors believes
that a reverse stock split, if the board, upon approval by the shareholders,
chooses to implement such an action, would be in the best interests of our
Company and its shareholders. As an example, the board may choose to
implement a reverse split if we have earnings or if we have a significant
financing opportunity that requires such action.
Our board of directors, recognizing
that amending our Certificate of Incorporation to provide for a reverse stock
split requires the approval of shareholders and that some shareholders may have
a different view of the necessity for maintaining a higher share price and fewer
outstanding shares, in March 2009, adopted resolutions, subject to approval by
our shareholders, to amend the Certificate of Incorporation to: (i) effect a
stock combination of up to ten-for-one, or reverse stock split, of the
outstanding shares of common stock, and (ii) provide for rounding up fractional
shares to the nearest whole share. The reverse split will not change
the number of authorized shares of common stock or preferred stock or the par
value of our common stock or preferred stock.
If the reverse split is approved, our
board of directors will have authority, without further shareholder approval, to
effect the reverse split pursuant to which up to ten shares of common stock
owned by a shareholder (the "old shares") would be exchanged for one
new share (the "new shares"). The number of old shares for which each
new share is to be exchanged is referred to as the "exchange number". The
reverse split will be effected simultaneously for all shares of common stock and
the exchange number will be the same for all shares of common
stock. Upon effectiveness of the reverse split, each option or
warrant right for common stock would entitle the holder to acquire a number of
shares equal to the number of shares which the holder was entitled to acquire
prior to the reverse split divided by the exchange number at the exercise price
in effect immediately prior to the reverse split, multiplied by the exchange
number.
Our board of directors will have the
authority to determine the exact timing of the effective date and the exchange
number (up to ten old shares for one new share) of the reverse split, without
further shareholder approval. Such timing will be determined in the
judgment of our board of directors, with the intention of maximizing our ability
to enhance shareholder value by attracting new investors, customers and
strategic stakeholders.
Our board of directors also reserves
the right, notwithstanding shareholder approval and without further action by
the shareholders, not to proceed with the reverse split, if, at any time prior
to filing the amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary
of State of the State of New York, our board of directors, in its sole
discretion, determines that the reverse split is no longer in the best interests
of our Company and its shareholders. Our board of directors may
consider a variety of factors in determining whether or not to implement the
reverse split including, but not limited to,
|
o
|
overall
trends in the stock market;
|
|
o
|
recent changes
and anticipated trends in the per
share market price of our common stock, business and transactional developments;
|
|
o
|
our
Company's actual and projected financial performance;
and
|
|
o
|
our
Company's anticipated merger with another
entity.
|
Our board
of directors believes that the market price of the common stock does not
accurately reflect the prospects for our Company based upon recent developments
in its operations that will help our Company reach profitability, including our
Company’s ability to send telephone calls over the data side of mobile telephone
networks. The ability to provide this service at a carrier-grade
level is very complex and we believe our ability to provide such services cannot
be easily replicated by other Internet telephony providers.
The reverse split will not change the
proportionate equity interests of our Company's shareholders, nor will the
respective voting rights and other rights of shareholders be altered, except for
possible immaterial changes due to our rounding of fractional shares as
described above. The common stock issued pursuant to the reverse split will
remain fully paid and non-assessable. We will continue to be subject
to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended.
Purposes
of the Reverse Stock Split
Our Board
of Directors believes that the reverse stock split would be beneficial for the
following reasons:
|
•
|
|
Increased, more attractive
share price. The anticipated increase in our stock price resulting
from the reverse stock split could return our stock price to a level that
we believe is more consistent with widely held companies. A higher stock
price should be well-received by our customers and potential customers,
who expect our stock price to be in line with those of other telecom
entities. A higher stock price may also meet investing guidelines for
certain institutional investors and investment funds that are currently
prevented under their guidelines from investing in our stock at its
current price levels.
|
|
•
|
|
Reduced stockholder transaction
costs. Certain investors pay commissions based on the number of
shares traded when they buy or sell our stock. If our stock price were
higher, these investors would pay lower commissions to trade a fixed
dollar amount of our stock than they would if our stock price were
lower.
|
|
•
|
|
Increased earnings
visibility. A decrease in our outstanding shares would result in
increased visibility for our earnings per share and changes in our
earnings per share. For example, if our fully-diluted weighted average
number of shares outstanding was 200,000,000, each $2,000,000 of net
income would result in $0.01 of earnings per share and additional net
income of less than $1,000,000 would result in no change in earnings per
share, as a result of rounding. If we implemented the reverse stock split
and reduced the fully-diluted weighted average number of shares
outstanding to 20,000,000, smaller changes in net income would be
reflected in earnings per share, because each $200,000 of net income would
result in $0.01 of earnings per
share.
|
The
following tables illustrate the principal effects of the reverse split on the
Common Stock, assuming that Item 4 above is approved by the shareholders, to
increase our authorized shares to 250,000,000:
|
|
Prior
to Reverse
|
|
|
After
Reverse
|
|
|
|
Stock Split
|
|
|
Stock Split
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number
of shares of Common Stock:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Authorized
|
|
|
250,000,000 |
|
|
|
250,000,000 |
|
Outstanding(1)
|
|
|
26,326,172 |
|
|
|
2,632,617 |
|
Available
for future issuance(2)
|
|
|
223,673,828 |
|
|
|
247,367,383 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial
Data(3):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shareholders'
Equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred
stock
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Common
stock
|
|
|
2,602,617 |
|
|
|
260,262 |
|
Capital
in excess of par value
|
|
|
28,461,538 |
|
|
|
30,803,893 |
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
|
(41,929,608 |
) |
|
|
(41,929,608 |
) |
Accumulated
other comprehensive loss
|
|
|
(2,616 |
) |
|
|
(2,616 |
) |
Total
shareholders' equity deficiency
|
|
|
(10,868,069 |
) |
|
|
(10,868,069 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prior
to Reverse
|
|
|
After
Reverse
|
|
|
|
Stock Split
|
|
|
Stock Split
|
|
Net
(loss) per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended November 30, 2000
|
|
$ |
(0.21 |
) |
|
$ |
(0.02 |
) |
Book
value per common share
|
|
|
(0.41 |
) |
|
|
(4.13 |
) |
(1) Gives effect
to a 10-for-1 reverse split as if it occurred on the
record date, subject to further adjustment.
(2) Upon
effectiveness of the reverse split, the number of authorized shares of
Common Stock that are
not issued or outstanding would increase, as
reflected in this table. Although this increase could,
under certain circumstances, have an anti-takeover effect (for example, by
permitting issuances which would dilute the stock ownership of a person seeking
to effect a change in the composition of the Board of Directors of the Company
or contemplating a tender offer or other transaction for the combination of the
Company with another entity), the reverse split proposal is not being proposed
in response to any effort of which the Company is aware to accumulate shares of
Common Stock or obtain control of the Company, nor is it part of a
plan by management to recommend a series of similar amendments to the Board of
Directors and shareholders. Other than the proposals in this proxy,
the Board does not currently contemplate recommending the adoption of any other
amendments to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation that could be construed
to affect the ability of third parties to take over or change control of the
Company.
(3) Balance
sheet data gives effect to the reverse split as if it occurred on November 30,
2008, subject to further adjustment.
Shareholders
should recognize that if the reverse split is effectuated they will own a fewer
number of shares than they presently own, equal to the number of shares owned
immediately prior to the filing of the amendment divided by the exchange number.
While the Company expects that the reverse split will result in an increase in
the market price of the Common Stock, there can be no assurance that the reverse
split will increase the market price of the Common Stock by a multiple equal to
the exchange number or result in the permanent increase in the market price,
which is dependent upon many factors, including the Company's performance and
prospects. Also, should the market price of the Common Stock decline,
the percentage decline as an absolute number and as a percentage of the
Company's overall market capitalization may be greater than would pertain in the
absence of a reverse split. Furthermore, the possibility exists that
liquidity in the market price of the Common Stock could be adversely affected by
the reduced number of shares that would be outstanding after the reverse
split. In addition, the reverse split will increase the number of the
Company's shareholders who own odd lots, that is, less than 100
shares. Shareholders who hold odd lots typically will experience an
increase in the cost of selling their shares, s well as possible
greater difficulty in effecting such sales. Consequently, there can
be no assurance that the reverse split will achieve the desired results that
have been outlined above.
Procedure
for Effecting the Reverse Split and Exchange of Stock Certificates
If the amendment is approved by
shareholders, and if the Board of Directors still believes that the reverse
split is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, the Company
will file the amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary
of State of the State of New York at such time as the Board has determined the
appropriate effective time for such split. The reverse split will
become effective on the date of filing the amendment (the
"effective date"). Beginning on the effective
date, each certificate representing old shares will be deemed
for all corporate purposes to evidence ownership of new shares.
As soon as practicable after the
effective date, shareholders will be notified that the reverse split has been
effected. The Company's transfer agent will act as exchange agent for
the reverse split for purposes of implementing the exchange of stock
certificates. Holders of old shares will be asked to surrender to the
exchange agent certificates representing old shares in exchange for certificates
representing new shares in accordance with the procedures to be set forth in a
letter of transmittal to be sent by the Company. No new certificates
will be issued to a shareholder until such shareholder has surrendered such
shareholder's outstanding certificate(s), together with the properly completed
and executed letter of transmittal to the exchange agent. Shareholders should
not destroy any stock certificate and should not submit any certificates until
requested to do so.
Fractional
Shares
No scrip or fractional certificates
will be issued in connection with the reverse
split. Shareholders who otherwise would be entitled to receive
fractional shares because they hold a number of old shares not evenly divisible
by the exchange number, will be entitled, upon surrender
to the exchange agent of certificates representing such
shares, to receive one whole share of common stock in lieu of a fractional
share.
Dissenters'
Rights
Under New
York law, shareholders are not entitled to dissenter's rights with respect to
the proposed amendment.
Federal
Income Tax Consequences of the Reverse Split
The following is a summary of certain
material federal income tax consequences of the reverse split, and does not
purport to be complete. It does not discuss any state, local, foreign
or minimum income or other U.S. federal tax consequences. Also, it does not
address the tax consequences to holders that are subject to special tax rules,
such as banks, insurance companies, regulated investment companies, personal
holding companies, foreign entities, nonresident alien individuals,
broker-dealers and tax-exempt entities. The discussion is based on
the provisions of the United States federal income tax law as of the date
hereof, which is subject to change retroactively as well as prospectively. This
summary also assumes that the old shares were, and the new shares will be, held
as a "capital asset," as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, generally, property held for investment. The tax treatment
of a shareholder may vary depending upon the particular facts and circumstances
of such shareholder. EACH SHAREHOLDER SHOULD CONSULT WITH SUCH
SHAREHOLDER'S OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVERSE
SPLIT.
No gain or loss should be recognized by
a shareholder of the Company upon such shareholder's exchange of old shares for
new shares pursuant to the reverse split. The aggregate tax basis of
the new shares received in the reverse split, including any fraction of a new
share deemed to have been received, will be the same as the shareholder's
aggregate tax basis in the old shares exchanged therefor. The
shareholder's holding period for the new shares will include the period during
which the shareholder held the old shares surrendered in the reverse
split.
RATIFICATION
OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
(Proxy
Item 6)
Nussbaum
Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow, LLP (“Nussbaum”), is serving as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2008
and has been appointed by our board of directors to continue as our independent
auditors for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2009. In the event
that ratification of this appointment of independent auditors is not approved by
the affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast on the matter, the appointment
of independent auditors will be reconsidered by our board of directors. Unless
marked to the contrary, proxies received will be voted for ratification of the
appointment of Nussbaum as our independent auditors for the fiscal year ending
November 30, 2009.
A
representative of Nussbaum is expected to attend the annual meeting, and such
representative will have the opportunity to make a statement if he so desires
and will be available to respond to appropriate questions from
shareholders.
Your
ratification of the appointment of Nussbaum as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2009 does not preclude
our board of directors from terminating its engagement of Nussbaum and retaining
a new independent registered public accounting firm, if it determines that such
an action would be in our best interests.
Audit
Fees
Audit
Fees
The
aggregate fees billed by Nussbaum for professional services rendered for the
audit of our annual financial statements for the last two fiscal years and for
the reviews of the financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-QSB during the last two fiscal years was $105,000 and $123,310,
respectively.
Audit-Related
Fees
We did
not engage our independent registered public accounting firm to provide
assurance or related services during the last two fiscal years.
Tax
Fees
The
aggregate fees billed by our independent registered public accounting firm for
tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning services rendered to us during the
last two fiscal years was $20,000 and $20,000 respectively.
All
Other Fees
Other
fees paid to our independent registered public accounting firm in fiscal 2008
amounted to $7,885. We did not engage our independent registered
public accounting firm to render services to us during fiscal 2007, other than
as reported above.
Pre-Approval
Policies and Procedures
Our board
of directors has the sole authority to appoint or replace our independent
registered public accounting firm. Our board is directly responsible for the
compensation and oversight of the work of our independent registered public
accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and
the independent registered public accounting firm regarding financial reporting)
for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. Our
independent registered public accounting firm is engaged by, and reports
directly to, our Board.
Our board
of directors pre-approves all auditing services and permitted non-audit services
(including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for us by our independent
registered public accounting firm, subject to the de minimis exceptions for
non-audit services described in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, all of which are approved by our board prior to the
completion of the audit. In the event pre-approval for such auditing services
and permitted non-audit services cannot be obtained as a result of inherent time
constraints in the matter for which such services are required, our Chairman of
the Board may pre-approve such services, and will report for ratification such
pre-approval to our board of directors at its next scheduled meeting. Our board
has complied with the procedures set forth above and all services reported above
were approved in accordance with such procedures.
Vote
Required and Board of Directors' Recommendation
Assuming
a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the
annual meeting of shareholders, by the shareholders entitled to vote at the
annual meeting of shareholders, either in person or by proxy, is required for
approval of this proposal.
Our board
of directors recommends a vote FOR ratification of the
appointment of Nussbaum as our independent registered public accounting firm for
the fiscal year ending November 30, 2009.
SHAREHOLDER
PROPOSALS
Proposals
of shareholders intended for presentation at our 2009 annual meeting of
shareholders and intended to be included in our proxy statement and form of
proxy relating to that meeting must be received at our executive offices by
January 8, 2010 and comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8(e) promulgated
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
OTHER
BUSINESS
Other
than as described above, our board of directors knows of no matters to be
presented at the annual meeting, but it is intended that the persons named in
the proxy will vote your shares according to their best judgment if any matters
not included in this proxy statement do properly come before the meeting or any
adjournment thereof.
ANNUAL
REPORT
Our
Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended November 30, 2008, including
financial statements, is being mailed with this proxy statement. If,
for any reason, you do not receive your copy of the Annual Report, please
contact Mr. Paul H. Riss, Chief Executive Officer, Pervasip Corp., 75 South
Broadway, Suite 400, White Plains, New York 10601, and another will be sent to
you.
By Order
of the Board of Directors,
Paul
H. Riss
Chairman
of the Board
White
Plains, New York
ANNEX A
PERVASIP
CORP.
2009 EQUITY INCENTIVE
PLAN
This
Pervasip Corp. 2009 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) is established
by Pervasip Corp., a New York corporation (the “Company”), effective
as of February 27, 2009 (the “Effective
Date”). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined shall have the
meanings set forth in Section 25.
1. Purpose. The
Plan is intended to provide qualifying Employees (including officers and
Directors), Independent Directors and Consultants with equity ownership in the
Company, thereby strengthening their commitment to the success of the Company,
promoting the identity of interests between the Company’s shareholders and such
Employees, Independent Directors and Consultants and stimulating their efforts
on behalf of the Company, and to assist the Company in attracting and retaining
talented personnel.
2. Scope of the
Plan. Subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 20, the
total number of Shares for which grants under the Plan shall be available is
5,000,000. If any Shares subject to any Award granted hereunder are
forfeited or such Award otherwise terminates without the issuance of such Shares
or for other consideration in lieu of such Shares, the Shares subject to such
Award, to the extent of any such forfeiture or termination, shall again be
available for grant under the Plan. Shares awarded under the Plan may
be treasury shares or newly-issued shares.
3. Administration.
(a) The
Plan shall be administered by a Committee which shall consist of at least two or
more members of the Board, all of whom, so long as the Company remains a Public
Company, shall qualify as “non-employee directors” under Section (b)(3)(i) of
Rule 16b-3. The number of members of the Committee may from time to
time be increased or decreased, and so long as the Company remains a Public
Company, shall be subject to such conditions, as the Board deems appropriate to
permit transactions in Shares pursuant to the Plan to satisfy such conditions of
Rule 16b-3 as then in effect.
(b) Subject
to the express provisions of the Plan, the Committee has full and final
authority and discretion as follows:
(i) to
determine when and to whom Awards should be granted and the terms, conditions
and restrictions applicable to each Award, including, without limitation, (A)
the exercise price of the Award, (B) the method of payment for Shares purchased
upon the exercise of the Award, (C) the method of satisfaction of any tax
withholding obligation arising in connection with the Award, (D) the timing,
terms and conditions of the exercisability of the Award or the vesting of any
Shares acquired upon the exercise thereof, (E) the time of the expiration of the
vesting of any Shares acquired upon the exercise thereof, (F) the effect of the
Grantee’s termination of employment or service with the Company on any of the
foregoing, (G) all other terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to the
Award or such Shares not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, (H) the
benefit payable under any SAR or Performance Share, and (I) whether or not
specific Awards shall be identified with other specific Awards, and if so
whether they shall be exercisable cumulatively with, or alternatively to, such
other specific Awards;
(ii) to
determine the amount, if any, that a Grantee shall pay for Restricted Shares,
whether to permit or require the payment of cash dividends thereon to be
deferred and the terms related thereto, when Restricted Shares (including
Restricted Shares acquired upon the exercise of any Award) shall be forfeited
and whether such Shares shall be held in escrow;
(iii) to
interpret the Plan and to make all determinations necessary or advisable for the
administration of the Plan;
(iv) to
make, amend and rescind rules, guidelines and policies relating to the Plan, or
to adopt supplements to, or alternative versions of, the Plan, including,
without limitation, rules with respect to the exercisability and forfeitability
of Awards upon the termination of employment or service of a
Grantee;
(v) to
determine the terms, conditions and restrictions of all Award Agreements (which
need not be identical) and, with the consent of the Grantee, to amend any such
Award Agreement at any time, among other things, to permit transfers of such
Awards to the extent permitted by the Plan, except that the consent of the
Grantee shall not be required for any amendment which (A) does not adversely
affect the rights of the Grantee or (B) is necessary or advisable (as determined
by the Committee) to carry out the purpose of the Award as a result of any
change in applicable law;
(vi) to
cancel, with the consent of the Grantee, outstanding Awards and to grant new
Awards in substitution therefor;
(vii) to
accelerate the exercisability of, and to accelerate or waive any or all of the
terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to, any Award or any group of
Awards for any reason and at any time, including in connection with a
termination of employment (other than for Cause);
(viii) subject
to Section 6(c), to extend the time during which any Award or group of Awards
may be exercised;
(ix) to
make such adjustments or modifications to Awards to Grantees working outside the
United States as are advisable to fulfill the purposes of the Plan;
(x) to
impose such additional terms, conditions and restrictions upon the grant,
exercise or retention of Awards as the Committee may, before or concurrent with
the grant thereof, deem appropriate; and
(xi) to
take any other action with respect to any matters relating to the Plan for which
it is responsible.
The
determination of the Committee on all matters relating to the Plan or any Award
Agreement shall be final.
4. Indemnification and
Reimbursement. Service as a member of the Committee or any
other duly appointed subcommittee shall constitute service as a Board member,
and such members shall accordingly be entitled to full indemnification and
reimbursement as Board members for their service as members of the Committee or
any other duly appointed subcommittee. No Committee or other duly
appointed subcommittee member shall be liable for any act or omission made in
good faith with respect to the Plan or any Award granted under the
Plan.
5. Eligibility. The
Committee may, in its discretion, grant Awards to any Eligible Person, whether
or not he or she has previously received an Award, except in the case of an ISO,
which can only be granted to an Employee of the Company or any
Subsidiary.
6. Conditions to
Grants.
(a) General
Conditions. Awards shall be evidenced by written Award
Agreements specifying the number of Shares covered thereby, in such form as the
Committee shall from time to time establish. Award Agreements may
incorporate all or any of the terms of the Plan by reference and shall comply
with and be subject to the following terms and conditions:
(i) The
Grant Date of an Award shall be the date on which the Committee grants the Award
or such later date as specified in advance by the Committee;
(ii) In
the case of an Award of options, the Option Term shall under no circumstances
extend more than ten (10) years after the Grant Date and shall be subject to
earlier termination as herein provided; and
(iii) Any
terms and conditions of an Award not set forth in the Plan shall be set forth in
the Award Agreement related to that Award.
(b) Grant of
Options. No later than the Grant Date of any option, the
Committee shall determine the Option Price of such option. Subject to
Section 6(c), the Option Price of an option may be the Fair Market Value of a
Share on the Grant Date or may be less than or more than that Fair Market
Value. An option shall be exercisable for unrestricted Shares, unless
the Award Agreement provides that it is exercisable for Restricted
Shares.
(c) Grant of
ISOs. At the time of the grant of any option, the Committee
may, in its discretion, designate that such option shall be made subject to
additional restrictions to permit the option to qualify as an “incentive stock
option” under the requirements of Section 422 of the Code. Any option
designated as an ISO:
(i) shall
have an Option Price that is not less than the Fair Market Value of a Share on
the Grant Date and, if granted to a Ten Percent Owner, have an Option Price that
is not less than 110% of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Grant
Date;
(ii) shall
be for a period of not more than ten (10) years and, if granted to a Ten Percent
Owner, not more than five (5) years, from the Grant Date and shall be subject to
earlier termination as provided herein or in the applicable Award
Agreement;
(iii) shall
meet the limitations of this subparagraph 6(c)(iii). If the aggregate
Fair Market Value of Shares with respect to which ISOs first become exercisable
by a Grantee in any calendar year exceeds the limit determined in accordance
with the provisions of Section 422 of the Code (the “Limit”) taking into
account Shares subject to all ISOs granted by the Company that are held by the
Grantee, the excess will be treated as nonqualified options. To
determine whether the Limit is exceeded, the Fair Market Value of Shares subject
to options shall be determined as of the Grant Dates of the
options. In reducing the number of options treated as ISOs to meet
the Limit, the most recently granted options will be reduced
first. If a reduction of simultaneously granted options is necessary
to meet the Limit, the Committee may designate which Shares are to be treated as
Shares acquired pursuant to an ISO;
(iv) shall
be granted within ten (10) years from the Effective Date;
(v) shall
require the Grantee to notify the Committee of any disposition of any Shares
issued upon the exercise of the ISO under the circumstances described in Section
421(b) of the Code (relating to certain disqualifying dispositions, a “Disqualifying
Disposition”), within ten (10) business days after such Disqualifying
Disposition; and
(vi) unless
otherwise permitted by the Code, shall by its terms not be assignable or
transferable other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and may
be exercised, during the Grantee’s lifetime, only by the Grantee, except that
the Grantee may, in accordance with Section 7, designate in writing a
beneficiary to exercise his or her ISOs after the Grantee’s death.
(d) Grant of
SARs.
(i) When
granted, SARs may, but need not, be identified with a specific option, specific
Restricted Shares, or specific Performance Shares of the Grantee (including any
option, Restricted Shares, or Performance Shares granted on or before the Grant
Date of the SARs) in a number equal to or different from the number of SARs so
granted. If SARs are identified with Shares subject to an option,
with Restricted Shares, or with Performance Shares, then, unless otherwise
provided in the applicable Award Agreement, the Grantee’s associated SARs shall
terminate upon (A) the expiration, termination, forfeiture, or cancellation of
such option, Restricted Shares or Performance Shares, (B) the exercise of such
option or Performance Shares, or (C) the date such Restricted Shares become
nonforfeitable.
(ii) The
strike price (the “Strike Price”) of any
SAR shall equal, for any SAR that is identified with an option, the Option Price
of such option, or for any other SAR, one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair
Market Value of a Share on the Grant Date of such SAR, except that the Committee
may (A) specify a higher Strike Price in the Award Agreement or (B) provide that
the benefit payable upon exercise of any SAR shall not exceed such percentage of
the Fair Market Value of a Share on such Grant Date as the Committee shall
specify.
(e) Grant of Performance
Shares.
|
(i)
|
Before
the grant of Performance Shares, the Committee
shall:
|
(A) determine
objective performance goals, which may consist of any one or more of the
following goals deemed appropriate by the Committee: earnings (either
in the aggregate or on a per share basis), operating income, cash flow, EBITDA
(earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), return on
equity, indices related to EVA (economic value added), per share rate of return
on the Common Stock (including dividends), general indices relative to levels of
general customer service satisfaction, as measured through various
randomly-generated customer service surveys, market share (in one or more
markets), customer retention rates, market penetration rates, revenues,
reductions in expense levels, the attainment by the Common Stock of a specified
market value for a specified period of time, and any other object performance
goal deemed appropriate by the Committee, in each case where applicable to be
determined either on a company-wide basis, individual basis or in respect of any
one or more business units, and the amount of compensation under the goals
applicable to such grant;
(B) designate
a period for the measurement of the extent to which performance goals are
attained, which may begin simultaneously with, prior to or following the Grant
Date (the “Performance
Period”); and
(C) assign
a performance percentage to each level of attainment of performance goals during
the Performance Period, with the percentage applicable to minimum attainment
being zero percent and the percentage applicable to maximum attainment to be
determined by the Committee from time to time (the “Performance
Percentage”).
(ii) If
a Grantee is promoted, demoted, or transferred to a different business unit of
the Company during a Performance Period, then, to the extent the Committee
determines any one or more of the performance goals, Performance Period or
Performance Percentage are no longer appropriate, the Committee may make any
changes thereto as it deems appropriate in order to make them
appropriate.
(iii) When
granted, Performance Shares may, but need not, be identified with Shares subject
to a specific option, specific Restricted Shares or specific SARs of the Grantee
granted under the Plan in a number equal to or different from the number of the
Performance Shares so granted. If Performance Shares are so
identified, then, unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement,
the Grantee’s associated Performance Shares shall terminate upon (A) the
expiration, termination, forfeiture or cancellation of the option, Restricted
Shares or SARs with which the Performance Shares are identified, (B) the
exercise of such option or SARs, or (C) the date Restricted Shares become
nonforfeitable.
(f) Grant of Restricted
Shares.
(i) The
Committee shall determine the amount, if any, that a Grantee shall pay for
Restricted Shares, subject to the following sentence. The Committee
shall require the Grantee to pay at least the Minimum Consideration for each
Restricted Share. Such payment shall be made in full by the Grantee
before the delivery of the shares and in any event no later than ten (10)
business days after the Grant Date. In the discretion of the
Committee and to the extent permitted by law, payment may also be made in
accordance with Section 9.
(ii) The
Committee may, but need not, provide that all or any portion of a Grantee’s
Restricted Shares, or Restricted Shares acquired upon exercise of an option,
shall be forfeited:
(A) except
as otherwise specified in the Plan or the Award Agreement, upon the Grantee’s
termination of employment within a specified time period after the Grant Date;
or
(B) if
the Company or the Grantee does not achieve specified performance goals (if any)
within a specified time period after the Grant Date and before the Grantee’s
termination of employment; or
(C) upon
failure to satisfy such other conditions as the Committee may specify in the
Award Agreement.
(iii) If
Restricted Shares are forfeited and the Grantee was required to pay for such
shares or acquired such Restricted Shares upon the exercise of an option, the
Grantee shall be deemed to have resold such Restricted Shares to the Company at
a price equal to the lesser of (A) the amount paid by the Grantee for such
Restricted Shares or (B) the Fair Market Value of the Restricted Shares on the
date of forfeiture, which shall be paid to the Grantee in cash as soon as
administratively practicable. Such Restricted Shares shall cease to
be outstanding and shall no longer confer on the Grantee thereof any rights as a
shareholder of the Company, from and after the date of the event causing the
forfeiture, whether or not the Grantee accepts the Company’s tender of payment
for such Restricted Shares.
(iv) The
Committee may provide that the certificates for any Restricted Shares (A) shall
be held (together with a stock power executed in blank by the Grantee) in escrow
by the Secretary of the Company until such Restricted Shares become
nonforfeitable or are forfeited or (B) shall bear an appropriate legend
restricting the transfer of such Restricted Shares. If any Restricted
Shares become nonforfeitable, the Company shall cause certificates for such
shares to be issued without such legend.
(v) At
the time of a grant of Restricted Shares, the Committee may require the payment
of cash dividends thereon to be deferred and, if the Committee so determines,
reinvested in additional Restricted Shares. Stock dividends or
deferred cash dividends issued with respect to Restricted Shares shall be
subject to the same restrictions and other terms as apply to the Restricted
Shares with respect to which such dividends are issued. The Committee
may in its discretion provide for payment of interest on deferred cash
dividends.
(g) Grant of Compensatory
Shares. The Committee may grant Compensatory Shares to any
Eligible Person.
7. Non-Transferability. An
Award granted hereunder shall not be assignable or transferable other than by
will or the laws of descent and distribution and may be exercised during the
Grantee’s lifetime only by the Grantee or his or her guardian or legal
representative, except that, subject to Section 6(c) in respect of ISOs, a
Grantee may, if permitted by the Committee, in its discretion, (a) designate in
writing a beneficiary to exercise an Award after his or her death (if that
designation has been received by the Company prior to the Grantee’s death) and
(b) transfer the Award to one or more members of the Grantee’s Immediate Family
or any other individuals or entities.
8. Exercise.
(a) Exercise of
Options.
(i) Subject
to Section 6, each option shall become exercisable at such time or times as may
be specified by the Committee from time to time in the applicable Award
Agreement.
(ii) An
option shall be exercised by the delivery to the Company during the Option Term
of (A) a written notice of intent to purchase a specific number of Shares
subject to the option in accordance with the terms of the option by the person
entitled to exercise the option and (B) payment in full of the Option Price of
such specific number of Shares in accordance with Section
8(a)(iii).
(iii) Payment
of the Option Price may be made by any one or more of the following
means:
(A) cash,
check, or wire transfer;
(B) with
the approval of the Committee, Mature Shares, valued at their Fair Market Value
on the date of exercise;
(C) with
the approval of the Committee, Restricted Shares held by the Grantee for at
least six (6) months prior to the exercise of the option, each such share valued
at the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise;
(D) so
long as the Company remains a Public Company, in accordance with procedures
previously approved by the Company, through the sale of the Shares acquired on
exercise of the option through a bank or broker-dealer to whom the Grantee has
submitted an irrevocable notice of exercise and irrevocable instructions to
deliver promptly to the Company the amount of sale or loan proceeds sufficient
to pay for such Shares, together with, if requested by the Company, the amount
of federal, state, local or foreign withholding taxes payable by Grantee by
reason of such exercise; or
(E) in
the discretion of the Committee, payment may also be made in accordance with
Section 9.
(F) with
the approval of the Committee, in any combination of the foregoing or such other
manner determined by the Committee.
The
Committee may in its discretion specify that, if any Restricted Shares are used
to pay the Option Price (“Tendered Restricted
Shares”), (A) all the Shares acquired on exercise of the option shall be
subject to the same restrictions as the Tendered Restricted Shares, determined
as of the date of exercise of the option or (B) a number of Shares acquired on
exercise of the option equal to the number of Tendered Restricted Shares shall
be subject to the same restrictions as the Tendered Restricted Shares,
determined as of the date of exercise of the option.
(b) Exercise of
SARs.
(i) Subject
to Section 6(d), (A) each SAR not identified with any other Award shall become
exercisable at such time or times as may be specified by the Committee from time
to time in the applicable Award Agreement and (B) except as otherwise provided
in the applicable Award Agreement, each SAR which is identified with any other
Award shall become exercisable as and to the extent that the option or
Restricted Shares with which such SAR is identified may be exercised or becomes
nonforfeitable, as the case may be.
(ii)
SARs shall be exercised by delivery to the Company of written notice of intent
to exercise a specific number of SARs. Unless otherwise provided in
the applicable Award Agreement, the exercise of SARs that are identified with
Shares subject to an option or Restricted Shares shall result in the
cancellation or forfeiture of such option or Restricted Shares, as the case may
be, to the extent of such exercise.
(iii)
The benefit for each SAR exercised
shall be equal to (A) the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of such
exercise, minus (B) the Strike Price specified in such SAR. Such
benefit shall be payable in cash, except that the Committee may provide in the
Award Agreement that benefits may be paid wholly or partly in
Shares.
(c) Payment of Performance
Shares. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement with
respect to an Award of Performance Shares, if the minimum performance goals
applicable to such Performance Shares have been achieved during the applicable
Performance Period, then the Company shall pay to the Grantee of such Award that
number of Shares equal to the product of:
(i) the
sum of (A) number of Performance Shares specified in the applicable Award
Agreement and (B) the number of additional Shares that would have been issuable
if such Performance Shares had been Shares outstanding throughout the
Performance Period and the stock dividends, cash dividends (except as otherwise
provided in the Award Agreement), and other property paid in respect of such
Shares had been reinvested in additional Shares as of each dividend payment
date, multiplied by
(ii) the
Performance Percentage achieved during such Performance Period.
The
Committee may, in its discretion, determine that cash be paid in lieu of some or
all of such Shares. The amount of cash payable in lieu of a Share
shall be determined by valuing such Share at its Fair Market Value on the
business day immediately preceding the date such cash is to be
paid. Payments pursuant to this Section 8 shall be made as soon as
administratively practical after the end of the applicable Performance
Period. Any Performance Shares with respect to which the performance
goals shall not have been achieved by the end of the applicable Performance
Period shall expire.
9. Loans. The
Committee may in its discretion allow a Grantee to defer payment to the Company
of all or any portion of (a) the Option Price of an option, (b) the purchase
price of Restricted Shares, or (c) any taxes associated with the exercise,
nonforfeitability of, or payment of benefits in connection with, an
Award. Any such payment deferral by the Company shall be on such
terms and conditions as the Committee may determine, except that a Grantee shall
not be entitled to defer the payment of such Option Price, purchase price, or
any related taxes unless the Grantee (a) enters into a binding obligation to pay
the deferred amount and (b) other than with respect to treasury shares, pays
upon exercise of an option or grant of Restricted Shares, as applicable, an
amount at least equal to the Minimum Consideration therefor. If the
Committee has permitted a payment deferral in accordance with this Section 9,
then the Committee may require the immediate payment of such deferred amount
upon the Grantee’s termination of employment or if the Grantee sells or
otherwise transfers his or her Shares purchased pursuant to such
deferral. The Committee may at any time in its discretion forgive the
repayment of any or all of the principal of, or interest on, any such deferred
payment obligation.
10. Notification under Section
83(b). If the Grantee, in connection with the exercise of any
option or the grant of Restricted Shares, makes the election permitted under
Section 83(b) of the Code to include in such Grantee’s gross income in the year
of transfer the amounts specified in Section 83(b) of the Code, then such
Grantee shall notify the Company, in writing, of such election within ten (10)
days after filing the notice of the election with the Internal Revenue Service,
in addition to any filing and notification required pursuant to regulations
issued under Section 83(b) of the Code. The Committee may, in
connection with the grant of an Award or at any time thereafter, prohibit a
Grantee from making the election described in this Section 10.
11. Mandatory Tax
Withholding.
(a) Whenever
under the Plan, Shares are to be delivered upon exercise or payment of an Award
or upon Restricted Shares becoming nonforfeitable, or any other event with
respect to rights and benefits hereunder, the Company shall be entitled to
require (i) that the Grantee remit an amount in cash, or in the Company’s
discretion, Mature Shares or any other form of consideration, sufficient to
satisfy all federal, state and local tax withholding requirements related
thereto (“Required
Withholding”), (ii) the withholding of such Required Withholding from
compensation otherwise due to the Grantee or from any Shares due to the Grantee
under the Plan, or (iii) any combination of the foregoing.
(b) Any
Grantee who makes a Disqualifying Disposition or an election under Section 83(b)
of the Code shall remit to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy all
resulting Required Withholding, except that in lieu of or in addition to the
foregoing, the Company shall have the right to withhold such Required
Withholding from compensation otherwise due to the Grantee or from any Shares or
other payment due to the Grantee under the Plan.
(c) Any
surrender by a Section 16 Grantee of previously owned shares of Common Stock to
satisfy tax withholding arising upon exercise of the Award must comply with the
applicable provisions of Rule 16b-3(e) under the 1934 Act.
12. Elective Share
Withholding. At the Company’s discretion, a Grantee may, with
the prior consent of the Committee, elect the withholding by the Company of a
portion of the Shares otherwise deliverable to such Grantee upon the exercise of
an Award or upon Restricted Shares becoming nonforfeitable (each, a “Taxable Event”)
having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum amount necessary to satisfy the
Required Withholding liability attributable to the Taxable Event.
13. Termination of
Employment.
(a) For
Cause. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in an
Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s employment is terminated for Cause, (i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date, subject to the provisions of Section 6(f)(iii) regarding
repayment of certain amounts to the Grantee; and (ii) any unexercised option,
SAR or Performance Share shall terminate effective immediately upon such
termination of employment.
(b) On Account of
Death. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the
Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s employment terminates on account of death,
then:
(i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date;
(ii) any
unexercised option or SAR, to the extent exercisable on the date of such
termination of employment, may be exercised, in whole or in part, within the
first twelve (12) months after such termination of employment (but only during
the Option Term) after the death of the Grantee by (A) his or her personal
representative or by the person to whom the option or SAR, as applicable, is
transferred by will or the applicable laws of descent and distribution, (B) the
Grantee’s designated beneficiary, or (C) a Permitted Transferee;
and
(iii) any
unexercised Performance Shares may be exercised in whole or in part, at any time
within six (6) months after such termination of employment on account of the
death of the Grantee, by (A) his or her personal representative or by the person
to whom the Performance Shares are transferred by will or the applicable laws of
descent and distribution, (B) the Grantee’s designated beneficiary, or (C) a
Permitted Transferee, except that the benefit payable with respect to any
Performance Shares for which the Performance Period has not ended as of the date
of such termination of employment on account of death shall be equal to the
product of Fair Market Value of such Performance Shares multiplied successively
by each of the following:
(A) a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months (including as a whole
month any partial month) that has elapsed since the beginning of such
Performance Period until the date of such termination of employment and the
denominator of which is the number of months (including as a whole month any
partial month) in the Performance Period; and
(B) a
percentage determined in the discretion of the Committee that would be earned
under the terms of the applicable Award Agreement assuming that the rate at
which the performance goals have been achieved as of the date of such
termination of employment would continue until the end of the Performance
Period, or, if the Committee elects to compute the benefit after the end of the
Performance Period, the Performance Percentage, as determined by the Committee,
attained during the Performance Period for such Performance Shares.
(c) On Account of
Disability. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in
the Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s employment terminates on account of
Disability, then:
(i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date;
(ii) any
unexercised option or SAR, to the extent exercisable on the date of such
termination of employment, may be exercised in whole or in part, within the
first twelve (12) months after such termination of employment (but only during
the Option Term) by the Grantee, or by (A) his or her personal representative or
by the person to whom the option or SAR, as applicable, is transferred by will
or the applicable laws of descent and distribution, (B) the Grantee’s designated
beneficiary, or (C) a Permitted Transferee; and
(iii) any
unexercised Performance Shares may be exercised in whole or in part, at any time
within six (6) months after such termination of employment on account of
Disability by the Grantee, or by (A) his personal representative or by the
person to whom the Performance Shares are transferred by will or the applicable
laws of descent and distribution, (B) the Grantee’s designated beneficiary, or
(C) a Permitted Transferee, except that the benefit payable with respect to any
Performance Shares for which the Performance Period has not ended as of the date
of such termination of employment on account of Disability shall be equal to the
product of the Fair Market Value of the Performance Shares multiplied
successively by each of the following:
(A) a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months (including as a whole
month any partial month) that have elapsed since the beginning of such
Performance Period until the date of such termination of employment and the
denominator of which is the number of months (including as a whole month any
partial month) in the Performance Period; and
(B) a
percentage determined in the discretion of the Committee that would be earned
under the terms of the applicable Award Agreement assuming that the rate at
which the performance goals have been achieved as of the date of such
termination of employment would continue until the end of the Performance
Period, or, if the Committee elects to compute the benefit after the end of the
Performance Period, the Performance Percentage, as determined by the Committee,
attained during the Performance Period for such Performance Shares.
(d) Any Reason Other Than For
Cause Or On Account of Death or Disability. Except as
otherwise provided by the Committee in the Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s
employment terminates for any reason other than for Cause, or on account of
death or Disability, then:
(i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith), that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date;
(ii) any
unexercised option or SAR (other than a SAR identified with a Restricted Share
or Performance Share), to the extent exercisable immediately before the
Grantee’s termination of employment, may be exercised in whole or in part, not
later than three (3) months after such termination of employment (but only
during the Option Term); and
(iii) the
Grantee’s Performance Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) shall terminate
effective immediately upon such termination of employment.
14. Substituted
Awards. If the Committee cancels any Award (whether granted
under the Plan or any plan of any entity acquired by the Company or a
Subsidiary), the Committee may, in its discretion, substitute a new Award
therefor upon such terms and conditions consistent with the Plan as the
Committee may determine, except that (a) the Option Price of any new option, and
the Strike Price of any new SAR, shall not be less than one hundred percent
(100%) (one hundred ten percent (110%) in the case of an incentive stock option
granted to a Ten Percent Owner) of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date
of the grant of the new Award; and (b) the Grant Date of the new Award shall be
the date on which such new Award is granted.
15 Securities Law
Matters.
(a) If
the Committee deems necessary to comply with any applicable securities law, the
Committee may require a written investment intent representation by the Grantee
and may require that a restrictive legend be affixed to certificates for
Shares. If, based upon the advice of counsel to the Company, the
Committee determines that the exercise or nonforfeitability of, or delivery of
benefits pursuant to, any Award would violate any applicable provision of (i)
federal or state securities laws or (ii) the listing requirements of any
national exchange or national market system on which are listed any of the
Company’s equity securities, then the Committee may postpone any such exercise,
nonforfeitability or delivery, as applicable, but the Company shall use all
reasonable efforts to cause such exercise, nonforfeitability or delivery to
comply with all such provisions at the earliest practicable date.
(b) Grants
of options to Section 16 Grantees shall comply with Rule 16b-3 and shall contain
such additional conditions or restrictions as may be required thereunder for
such grants to qualify for exemption from liability under Section 16(b) of the
1934 Act.
16. No Employment
Rights. Neither the establishment of the Plan nor the grant of
any Award shall (a) give any Grantee the right to remain employed by the Company
or any Subsidiary or to any benefits not specifically provided by the Plan or
(b) modify the right of the Company or any Subsidiary to modify, amend, or
terminate the Plan or any other employee benefit plan or employment
agreement.
17. No Rights as a
Shareholder. A Grantee shall not have any rights as a
shareholder of the Company with respect to the Shares (other than Restricted
Shares) which may be deliverable upon exercise or payment of an Award until such
Shares have been delivered to him or her. Restricted Shares, whether
held by a Grantee or in escrow by the Company, shall confer on the Grantee all
rights of a shareholder of the Company, except as otherwise provided in the Plan
or applicable Award Agreement.
18. Nature of
Payments. Awards shall be special incentive payments to the
Grantee and shall not be taken into account in computing the amount of salary or
compensation of the Grantee for purposes of determining any pension, retirement,
death or other benefit under (a) any pension, retirement, profit-sharing, bonus,
insurance or other employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary or (b)
any agreement between (i) the Company or any Subsidiary and (ii) the Grantee,
except as such plan or agreement shall otherwise expressly provide.
19. Non-uniform
Determinations. The Committee’s determinations under the Plan
need not be uniform and may be made by the Committee selectively among persons
who receive, or are eligible to receive, Awards, whether or not such persons are
similarly situated. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
the Committee shall be entitled to enter into non-uniform and selective Award
Agreements as to (a) the identity of the Grantees, (b) the terms and provisions
of Awards, including, without limitation, vesting and manner of payment of
purchase price upon exercise, and (c) the treatment of terminations of
employment.
20. Adjustments. The
Committee shall make equitable adjustment of:
(a) the
aggregate number of Shares available under the Plan for Awards and the aggregate
number of Shares for which Awards may be granted to any individual Grantee in
any calendar year pursuant to the second sentence of Section 2;
(b) the
number of Shares, SARs or Performance Shares covered by an Award;
and
(c) the
Option Price of all outstanding options and the Strike Price of all outstanding
SARs;
to
reflect a stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, share combination,
recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, split-off, reorganization,
rights offering, liquidation or similar event of or by the Company.
21. Amendment of the
Plan. The Committee may from time to time, in its discretion,
amend the Plan without the approval of the Company’s shareholders, except (a) as
such shareholder approval may be required under the listing requirements of any
securities exchange or national market system on which are listed the Company’s
equity securities and (b) that the Committee may not without the approval of the
Company’s shareholders amend the Plan to increase the total number of shares
reserved for the purposes of the Plan (other than in accordance with Section
20).
22. Termination of the
Plan. The Plan shall continue in effect until the earlier of
its termination by the Committee or the date on which all of the shares of
Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan have been issued and all
restrictions on such shares under the terms of the Plan and the agreements
evidencing Awards granted under the Plan have lapsed. However, all
Awards shall be granted, if at all, within ten (10) years from the earlier of
the date the Plan is adopted by the Committee or the date the Plan is duly
approved by the shareholders of the Company. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to
the Plan has been increased at any time, all Awards shall be granted, if at all,
no later than the last day preceding the ten (10) year anniversary of the
earlier of (a) the date on which the latest such increase in the maximum number
of shares of Common Stock issuable under the Plan was approved by the
shareholders of the Company or (b) the date such amendment was adopted by the
Committee. No termination shall affect any Award then outstanding
under the Plan.
23. No Illegal
Transactions. The Plan and all Awards granted pursuant to it
are subject to all applicable laws and regulations. Notwithstanding
any provision of the Plan or any Award, Grantees shall not be entitled to
exercise, or receive benefits under any Award, and the Company shall not be
obligated to deliver any Shares or deliver benefits to a Grantee, if such
exercise or delivery would constitute a violation by the Grantee or the Company
of any applicable law or regulation.
24. Constructive
Sales. The Grantee shall not directly or indirectly, through
related parties or otherwise, “short” or “short against the box” (as those terms
are generally understood in the securities markets), or otherwise directly or
indirectly (through derivative instruments or otherwise) dispose of or hedge,
any securities of the Company issuable upon exercise of such Grantee’s
Award(s).
25. Definitions. The
terms set forth below have the indicated meanings which are applicable to both
the singular and plural forms thereof:
“Award” shall mean
options, including ISOs, Restricted Shares, Compensatory Shares, SARs or
Performance Shares granted under the Plan.
“Award Agreement”
shall mean the written agreement by which an Award shall be
evidenced.
“Board” shall mean the
Board of Directors of the Company.
“Cause”, with respect
to any employee or consultant of the Company shall have the meaning set forth in
such person’s employment or consulting agreement or, in the absence of such an
agreement or if such term is not defined in such agreement, shall mean any one
or more of the following, as determined by the Committee (in the case of a
Section 16 Grantee) or the Chief Executive Officer or President of the Company
(in the case of any other Grantee):
(i) a
Grantee’s commission of a crime that is likely to result in injury to the
Company or a Subsidiary;
(ii) the
material violation by the Grantee of written policies of the Company or a
Subsidiary;
(iii) the
habitual neglect by the Grantee in the performance of his or her duties to the
Company or a Subsidiary; or
(iv) a
Grantee’s willful misconduct or inaction in connection with his or her duties to
the Company or a Subsidiary resulting in a material injury to the Company or a
Subsidiary.
“Code” shall mean the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended or superseded, and the regulations and
rulings thereunder. Reference to a particular section of the Code
shall include references to successor provisions.
“Committee” shall mean
the committee of the Board appointed pursuant to Section 3(a), or if not so
appointed or unable to act or with reference to Awards to Independent Directors,
shall mean the entire Board.
“Common Stock” shall
mean the common stock, $0.10 par value per share, of the Company.
“Compensatory Shares”
shall mean Shares that are awarded to a Grantee without cost and without
restrictions either as a bonus, in lieu of cash compensation for services
rendered to the Company or for any other compensatory purpose.
“Consultant” shall
mean any person, including a Director, who is engaged by the Company or any
Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof to render services to or for the benefit
of the Company and is compensated for such services, including any member of the
Advisory Board of the Company.
“Director” shall mean
a member of the Board.
“Disability” shall
mean a permanent and total disability, within the meaning of Section
22(e)(3) of the Code.
“Effective Date” shall
mean the date set forth in the first paragraph hereof.
“Eligible Person”
shall mean any Employee, Consultant or Director of the Company or any
Subsidiary, including any prospective Employee or Employee on an approved leave
of absence or layoff, if such leave or layoff does not qualify as a
Disability.
“Employee” shall mean
any person treated as an employee (including officers and directors) in the
records of the Company (or Subsidiary) and who is subject to the control and
direction of the Company (or Subsidiary) with regard to both the work to be
performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a
director’s fee by the Company (or Subsidiary) to a Director shall not be
sufficient to constitute “employment” of the Director by the Company (or
Subsidiary).
“Fair Market Value”
per share of Common Stock on any relevant date shall mean such value as
determined in accordance with the following provisions:
(i) If
the Common Stock is at that time listed on a national securities exchange, then
the Fair Market Value shall mean the closing selling price per share of Common
Stock on the exchange on which such Common Stock is principally traded on the
relevant date or, if there were no sales on that date, the closing selling price
of such Common Stock on the last preceding date on which there were
sales.
(ii) If
the Common Stock is at that time traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market®, Nasdaq
Small Cap MarketSM or OTC
Bulletin Board®, as the
case may be, then the Fair Market Value shall mean the closing selling price per
share of Common Stock on the relevant date, as the price is reported on the
Nasdaq Stock Market®, Nasdaq
Small Cap MarketSM or OTC
Bulletin Board®, as the
case may be, or any successor system. If there is no closing selling
price for the Common Stock on the relevant date, then the Fair Market Value
shall mean the closing selling price on the last preceding date for which such
quotation exists.
(iii) If
the Common Stock is neither listed on any national securities exchange nor
traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market®, Nasdaq
Small Cap MarketSM or OTC
Bulletin Board®, then
the Fair Market Value shall mean that value determined by the Committee after
taking into account such factors as the Committee shall in good faith deem
appropriate.
“Grant Date” shall
have the meaning specified in Section 6(a).
“Grantee” shall mean a
person who has been granted an Award or any Permitted Transferee.
“ISO” shall mean an
incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the
Code.
“Immediate Family”
shall mean, with respect to a particular Grantee, the Grantee’s spouse, children
and grandchildren.
“Independent Director”
shall mean a member of the Board who in not an Employee of the
Company.
“Mature Shares” shall
mean Shares for which the holder thereof has good title, free and clear of all
liens and encumbrances, and which such holder has held for at least six (6)
months.
“Minimum
Consideration” shall mean par value per Share or such other amount that
is from time to time considered to be minimum consideration under applicable
law.
“1934 Act” shall mean
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. References to a
particular section of the 1934 Act or rule thereunder, include references to
successor provisions.
“Option Price” shall
mean the per share exercise price of an option.
“Option Term” shall
mean the period beginning on the Grant Date of an option and ending on the
expiration date of such option, as specified in the Award Agreement for such
option and as may, in the discretion of the Committee and consistent with the
provisions of the Plan, be extended from time to time.
“Performance Shares”
shall mean an Award to a Grantee pursuant to Section 6(e).
“Permitted Transferee”
shall mean a person to whom an Award may be transferred or assigned in
accordance with Section 7.
“Public Company” shall
mean any entity issuing any class of equity securities that has been, or is
required to be, registered under Section 12 of the 1934 Act.
“Restricted Shares”
shall mean Shares that are subject to forfeiture if the Grantee does not satisfy
the conditions specified in the Award Agreement applicable to those
Shares.
“Rule 16b-3” shall
mean Rule 16b-3 of the SEC under the 1934 Act, as amended from time to time,
together with any successor rule.
“SAR” shall mean a
stock appreciation right.
“SEC” shall mean the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Section 16 Grantee”
shall mean a person who is subject to potential liability under Section 16(b) of
the 1934 Act with respect to transactions involving equity securities of the
Company.
“Share” shall mean a
share of Common Stock.
“Strike Price” shall
have the meaning specified in Section 6(d)(ii).
“Subsidiary” shall
mean a subsidiary corporation, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code (with
the Company being treated as the employer corporation for purposes of this
definition).
“Ten Percent Owner”
shall mean a person who owns capital stock (including stock treated as owned
under Section 424(d) of the Code) possessing more than ten percent of the total
combined Voting Power of all classes of capital stock of the Company or any
Subsidiary.
“Voting Power” shall
mean the combined voting power of the then-outstanding securities of the Company
entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.
26. Controlling
Law. The law of the State of New York, except its law with
respect to choice of law, shall control all matters relating to the
Plan.
27. Severability. If
any part of the Plan is declared by any court or governmental authority to be
unlawful or invalid, such unlawfulness or invalidity shall not invalidate any
other part of the Plan. Any Section or part of a Section so declared
to be unlawful or invalid shall, if possible, be construed in a manner which
will given effect to the terms of such Section to the fullest extent possible
while remaining lawful and valid.
Annex
B
PERVASIP
CORP.
2007 CONTINGENT OPTION
PLAN
This
Pervasip Corp. 2007 Contingent Option Plan (the “Plan”) is established
by Pervasip Corp., a New York corporation (the “Company”), effective
as of November16, 2007 (the “Effective
Date”). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined shall have the
meanings set forth in Section 25.
1. Purpose. The
Plan is intended to provide qualifying Employees (including officers and
Directors), Independent Directors and Consultants with equity ownership in the
Company, thereby strengthening their commitment to the success of the Company,
promoting the identity of interests between the Company’s shareholders and such
Employees, Independent Directors and Consultants and stimulating their efforts
on behalf of the Company, and to assist the Company in attracting and retaining
talented personnel.
2. Scope of the
Plan. Subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 20, the
total number of Shares for which grants under the Plan shall be available is
7,893,506. If any Shares subject to any Award granted hereunder are
forfeited or such Award otherwise terminates without the issuance of such Shares
or for other consideration in lieu of such Shares, the Shares subject to such
Award, to the extent of any such forfeiture or termination, shall again be
available for grant under the Plan. Shares awarded under the Plan may
be treasury shares or newly-issued shares.
3. Administration.
(a) The
Plan shall be administered by the Board of Directors or a committee designated
by the board (the “Committee”) which shall consist of at least two or more
members of the Board, all of whom, so long as the Company remains a Public
Company, shall qualify as “non-employee directors” under Section (b)(3)(i) of
Rule 16b-3. Should there not be two or more non-employee directors on
the Board of Directors, the entire Board will be deemed to be the
Committee. The number of members of the Committee may from time to
time be increased or decreased, and so long as the Company remains a Public
Company, shall be subject to such conditions, as the Board deems appropriate to
permit transactions in Shares pursuant to the Plan to satisfy such conditions of
Rule 16b-3 as then in effect.
(b) Subject
to the express provisions of the Plan, the Committee has full and final
authority and discretion as follows:
(i) to
determine when and to whom Awards should be granted and the terms, conditions
and restrictions applicable to each Award, including, without limitation, (A)
the exercise price of the Award, (B) the method of payment for Shares purchased
upon the exercise of the Award, (C) the method of satisfaction of any tax
withholding obligation arising in connection with the Award, (D) the timing,
terms and conditions of the exercisability of the Award or the vesting of any
Shares acquired upon the exercise thereof, (E) the time of the expiration of the
vesting of any Shares acquired upon the exercise thereof, (F) the effect of the
Grantee’s termination of employment or service with the Company on any of the
foregoing, (G) all other terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to the
Award or such Shares not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, (H) the
benefit payable under any SAR or Performance Share, and (I) whether or not
specific Awards shall be identified with other specific Awards, and if so
whether they shall be exercisable cumulatively with, or alternatively to, such
other specific Awards;
(ii) to
determine the amount, if any, that a Grantee shall pay for Restricted Shares,
whether to permit or require the payment of cash dividends thereon to be
deferred and the terms related thereto, when Restricted Shares (including
Restricted Shares acquired upon the exercise of any Award) shall be forfeited
and whether such Shares shall be held in escrow;
(iii) to
interpret the Plan and to make all determinations necessary or advisable for the
administration of the Plan;
(iv) to
make, amend and rescind rules, guidelines and policies relating to the Plan, or
to adopt supplements to, or alternative versions of, the Plan, including,
without limitation, rules with respect to the exercisability and forfeitability
of Awards upon the termination of employment or service of a
Grantee;
(v) to
determine the terms, conditions and restrictions of all Award Agreements (which
need not be identical) and, with the consent of the Grantee, to amend any such
Award Agreement at any time, among other things, to permit transfers of such
Awards to the extent permitted by the Plan, except that the consent of the
Grantee shall not be required for any amendment which (A) does not adversely
affect the rights of the Grantee or (B) is necessary or advisable (as determined
by the Committee) to carry out the purpose of the Award as a result of any
change in applicable law;
(vi) to
cancel, with the consent of the Grantee, outstanding Awards and to grant new
Awards in substitution therefor;
(vii) to
accelerate the exercisability of, and to accelerate or waive any or all of the
terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to, any Award or any group of
Awards for any reason and at any time, including in connection with a
termination of employment (other than for Cause);
(viii) subject
to Section 6(c), to extend the time during which any Award or group of Awards
may be exercised;
(ix) to
make such adjustments or modifications to Awards to Grantees working outside the
United States as are advisable to fulfill the purposes of the Plan;
(x) to
impose such additional terms, conditions and restrictions upon the grant,
exercise or retention of Awards as the Committee may, before or concurrent with
the grant thereof, deem appropriate; and
(xi) to
take any other action with respect to any matters relating to the Plan for which
it is responsible.
The
determination of the Committee on all matters relating to the Plan or any
Award Agreement shall be
final.
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4. Indemnification and
Reimbursement. Service as a member of the Committee or any
other duly appointed subcommittee shall constitute service as a Board member,
and such members shall accordingly be entitled to full indemnification and
reimbursement as Board members for their service as members of the Committee or
any other duly appointed subcommittee. No Committee or other duly
appointed subcommittee member shall be liable for any act or omission made in
good faith with respect to the Plan or any Award granted under the
Plan.
5. Eligibility. The
Committee may, in its discretion, grant Awards to any Eligible Person, whether
or not he or she has previously received an Award, except in the case of an ISO,
which can only be granted to an Employee of the Company or any
Subsidiary.
6. Conditions to
Grants.
(a) General
Conditions. Awards shall be evidenced by written Award
Agreements specifying the number of Shares covered thereby, in such form as the
Committee shall from time to time establish. Award Agreements may
incorporate all or any of the terms of the Plan by reference and shall comply
with and be subject to the following terms and conditions:
(i) The
Grant Date of an Award shall be the date on which the Committee grants the Award
or such later date as specified in advance by the Committee;
(ii) In
the case of an Award of options, the Option Term shall under no circumstances
extend more than ten (10) years after the Grant Date and shall be subject to
earlier termination as herein provided; and
(iii) Any terms and conditions of an Award
not set forth in the Plan shall be set forth in the Award Agreement related to
that Award.
(b) Grant of
Options. No later than the Grant Date of any option, the
Committee shall determine the Option Price of such option. Subject to
Section 6(c), the Option Price of an option may be the Fair Market Value of a
Share on the Grant Date or may be less than or more than that Fair Market
Value. An option shall be exercisable for unrestricted Shares, unless
the Award Agreement provides that it is exercisable for Restricted
Shares.
(c) Grant of
ISOs. At the time of the grant of any option, the Committee
may, in its discretion, designate that such option shall be made subject to
additional restrictions to permit the option to qualify as an “incentive stock
option” under the requirements of Section 422 of the Code. Any option
designated as an ISO:
(i) shall
have an Option Price that is not less than the Fair Market Value of a Share on
the Grant Date and, if granted to a Ten Percent Owner, have an Option Price that
is not less than 110% of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Grant
Date;
(ii) shall
be for a period of not more than ten (10) years and, if granted to a Ten Percent
Owner, not more than five (5) years, from the Grant Date and shall be subject to
earlier termination as provided herein or in the applicable Award
Agreement;
(iii) shall
meet the limitations of this subparagraph 6(c)(iii). If the aggregate
Fair Market Value of Shares with respect to which ISOs first become exercisable
by a Grantee in any calendar year exceeds the limit determined in accordance
with the provisions of Section 422 of the Code (the “Limit”) taking into
account Shares subject to all ISOs granted by the Company that are held by the
Grantee, the excess will be treated as nonqualified options. To
determine whether the Limit is exceeded, the Fair Market Value of Shares subject
to options shall be determined as of the Grant Dates of the
options. In reducing the number of options treated as ISOs to meet
the Limit, the most recently granted options will be reduced
first. If a reduction of simultaneously granted options is necessary
to meet the Limit, the Committee may designate which Shares are to be treated as
Shares acquired pursuant to an ISO;
(iv) shall
be granted within ten (10) years from the Effective Date;
(v) shall require the Grantee to notify the
Committee of any disposition of any Shares issued upon the exercise of
the ISO under the circumstances described in Section 421(b) of the Code
(relating to certain disqualifying dispositions, a “Disqualifying
Disposition”), within ten (10) business days after such Disqualifying
Disposition; and
(vi) unless
otherwise permitted by the Code, shall by its terms not be assignable or
transferable other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and may
be exercised, during the Grantee’s lifetime, only by the Grantee, except that
the Grantee may, in accordance with Section 7, designate in writing a
beneficiary to exercise his or her ISOs after the Grantee’s death.
(d) Grant of
SARs.
(i) When
granted, SARs may, but need not, be identified with a specific option, specific
Restricted Shares, or specific Performance Shares of the Grantee (including any
option, Restricted Shares, or Performance Shares granted on or before the Grant
Date of the SARs) in a number equal to or different from the number of SARs so
granted. If SARs are identified with Shares subject to an option,
with Restricted Shares, or with Performance Shares, then, unless otherwise
provided in the applicable Award Agreement, the Grantee’s associated SARs shall
terminate upon (A) the expiration, termination, forfeiture, or cancellation of
such option, Restricted Shares or Performance Shares, (B) the exercise of such
option or Performance Shares, or (C) the date such Restricted Shares become
nonforfeitable.
(ii) The
strike price (the “Strike Price”) of any
SAR shall equal, for any SAR that is identified with an option, the Option Price
of such option, or for any other SAR, one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair
Market Value of a Share on the Grant Date of such SAR, except that the Committee
may (A) specify a higher Strike Price in the Award Agreement or (B) provide that
the benefit payable upon exercise of any SAR shall not exceed such percentage of
the Fair Market Value of a Share on such Grant Date as the Committee shall
specify.
(e) Grant of Performance
Shares.
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(ii)
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Before
the grant of Performance Shares, the Committee
shall:
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(A) determine
objective performance goals, which may consist of any one or more of the
following goals deemed appropriate by the Committee: earnings (either
in the aggregate or on a per share basis), operating income, cash flow, EBITDA
(earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), return on
equity, indices related to EVA (economic value added), per share rate of return
on the Common Stock (including dividends), general indices relative to levels of
general customer service satisfaction, as measured through various
randomly-generated customer service surveys, market share (in one or more
markets), customer retention rates, market penetration rates, revenues,
reductions in expense levels, the attainment by the Common Stock of a specified
market value for a specified period of time, and any other object performance
goal deemed appropriate by the Committee, in each case where applicable to be
determined either on a company-wide basis, individual basis or in respect of any
one or more business units, and the amount of compensation under the goals
applicable to such grant;
(B) designate
a period for the measurement of the extent to which performance goals are
attained, which may begin simultaneously with, prior to or following the Grant
Date (the “Performance
Period”); and
(C) assign
a performance percentage to each level of attainment of performance goals during
the Performance Period, with the percentage applicable to minimum attainment
being zero percent and the percentage applicable to maximum attainment to be
determined by the Committee from time to time (the “Performance
Percentage”).
(ii) If
a Grantee is promoted, demoted, or transferred to a different business unit of
the Company during a Performance Period, then, to the extent the Committee
determines any one or more of the performance goals, Performance Period or
Performance Percentage are no longer appropriate, the Committee may make any
changes thereto as it deems appropriate in order to make them
appropriate.
(iii) When
granted, Performance Shares may, but need not, be identified with Shares subject
to a specific option, specific Restricted Shares or specific SARs of the Grantee
granted under the Plan in a number equal to or different from the number of the
Performance Shares so granted. If Performance Shares are so
identified, then, unless otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement,
the Grantee’s associated Performance Shares shall terminate upon (A) the
expiration, termination, forfeiture or cancellation of the option, Restricted
Shares or SARs with which the Performance Shares are identified, (B) the
exercise of such option or SARs, or (C) the date Restricted Shares become
nonforfeitable.
(f) Grant of Restricted
Shares.
(i) The
Committee shall determine the amount, if any, that a Grantee shall pay for
Restricted Shares, subject to the following sentence. The Committee
shall require the Grantee to pay at least the Minimum Consideration for each
Restricted Share. Such payment shall be made in full by the Grantee
before the delivery of the shares and in any event no later than ten (10)
business days after the Grant Date. In the discretion of the
Committee and to the extent permitted by law, payment may also be made in
accordance with Section 9.
(ii) The Committee may, but need not,
provide that all or any portion of a Grantee’s Restricted Shares, or Restricted
Shares acquired upon exercise of an option, shall be
forfeited:
(A) except
as otherwise specified in the Plan or the Award Agreement, upon the Grantee’s
termination of employment within a specified time period after the Grant Date;
or
(B) if
the Company or the Grantee does not achieve specified performance goals (if any)
within a specified time period after the Grant Date and before the Grantee’s
termination of employment; or
(C) upon
failure to satisfy such other conditions as the Committee may specify in the
Award Agreement.
(iii) If
Restricted Shares are forfeited and the Grantee was required to pay for such
shares or acquired such Restricted Shares upon the exercise of an option, the
Grantee shall be deemed to have resold such Restricted Shares to the Company at
a price equal to the lesser of (A) the amount paid by the Grantee for such
Restricted Shares or (B) the Fair Market Value of the Restricted Shares on the
date of forfeiture, which shall be paid to the Grantee in cash as soon as
administratively practicable. Such Restricted Shares shall cease to
be outstanding and shall no longer confer on the Grantee thereof any rights as a
shareholder of the Company, from and after the date of the event causing the
forfeiture, whether or not the Grantee accepts the Company’s tender of payment
for such Restricted Shares.
(iv) The Committee may provide that the
certificates for any Restricted Shares (A) shall be held (together with a stock
power executed in blank by the Grantee) in escrow by the Secretary of the
Company until such Restricted Shares become nonforfeitable or are forfeited or
(B) shall bear an appropriate legend restricting the transfer of such Restricted
Shares. If any Restricted Shares become nonforfeitable, the
Company shall cause certificates for such shares to be issued without such
legend.
(v) At
the time of a grant of Restricted Shares, the Committee may require the payment
of cash dividends thereon to be deferred and, if the Committee so determines,
reinvested in additional Restricted Shares. Stock dividends or
deferred cash dividends issued with respect to Restricted Shares shall be
subject to the same restrictions and other terms as apply to the Restricted
Shares with respect to which such dividends are issued. The Committee
may in its discretion provide for payment of interest on deferred cash
dividends.
(g) Grant of Compensatory
Shares. The Committee may grant Compensatory Shares to any
Eligible Person.
7. Non-Transferability. An
Award granted hereunder shall not be assignable or transferable other than by
will or the laws of descent and distribution and may be exercised during the
Grantee’s lifetime only by the Grantee or his or her guardian or legal
representative, except that, subject to Section 6(c) in respect of ISOs, a
Grantee may, if permitted by the Committee, in its discretion, (a) designate in
writing a beneficiary to exercise an Award after his or her death (if that
designation has been received by the Company prior to the Grantee’s death) and
(b) transfer the Award to one or more members of the Grantee’s Immediate Family
or any other individuals or entities.
8. Exercise.
(a) Exercise of
Options.
(i) Subject
to Section 6, each option shall become exercisable at such time or times as may
be specified by the Committee from time to time in the applicable Award
Agreement.
(ii) An
option shall be exercised by the delivery to the Company during the Option Term
of (A) a written notice of intent to purchase a specific number of Shares
subject to the option in accordance with the terms of the option by the person
entitled to exercise the option and (B) payment in full of the Option Price of
such specific number of Shares in accordance with Section
8(a)(iii).
(iii) Payment
of the Option Price may be made by any one or more of the following
means:
(A) cash,
check, or wire transfer;
(B) with
the approval of the Committee, Mature Shares, valued at their Fair Market Value
on the date of exercise;
(C) with
the approval of the Committee, Restricted Shares held by the Grantee for at
least six (6) months prior to the exercise of the option, each such share valued
at the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise;
(D) so
long as the Company remains a Public Company, in accordance with procedures
previously approved by the Company, through the sale of the Shares acquired on
exercise of the option through a bank or broker-dealer to whom the Grantee has
submitted an irrevocable notice of exercise and irrevocable instructions to
deliver promptly to the Company the amount of sale or loan proceeds sufficient
to pay for such Shares, together with, if requested by the Company, the amount
of federal, state, local or foreign withholding taxes payable by Grantee by
reason of such exercise; or
(E) in
the discretion of the Committee, payment may also be made in accordance with
Section 9.
(F) with
the approval of the Committee, in any combination of the foregoing or such other
manner determined by the Committee.
The
Committee may in its discretion specify that, if any Restricted Shares are used
to pay the Option Price (“Tendered Restricted
Shares”), (A) all the Shares acquired on exercise of the option shall be
subject to the same restrictions as the Tendered Restricted Shares, determined
as of the date of exercise of the option or (B) a number of Shares acquired on
exercise of the option equal to the number of Tendered Restricted Shares shall
be subject to the same restrictions as the Tendered Restricted Shares,
determined as of the date of exercise of the option.
(b) Exercise of
SARs.
(i) Subject
to Section 6(d), (A) each SAR not identified with any other Award shall become
exercisable at such time or times as may be specified by the Committee from time
to time in the applicable Award Agreement and (B) except as otherwise provided
in the applicable Award Agreement, each SAR which is identified with any other
Award shall become exercisable as and to the extent that the option or
Restricted Shares with which such SAR is identified may be exercised or becomes
nonforfeitable, as the case may be.
(ii)
SARs shall be exercised by delivery to the Company of written notice of intent
to exercise a specific number of SARs. Unless otherwise provided in
the applicable Award Agreement, the exercise of SARs that are identified with
Shares subject to an option or Restricted Shares shall result in the
cancellation or forfeiture of such option or Restricted Shares, as the case may
be, to the extent of such exercise.
(iii) The
benefit for each SAR exercised shall be equal to (A) the Fair Market Value of a
Share on the date of such exercise, minus (B) the Strike Price specified in such
SAR. Such benefit shall be payable in cash, except that the Committee
may provide in the Award Agreement that benefits may be paid wholly or partly in
Shares.
(c) Payment of Performance
Shares. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement with
respect to an Award of Performance Shares, if the minimum performance goals
applicable to such Performance Shares have been achieved during the applicable
Performance Period, then the Company shall pay to the Grantee of such Award that
number of Shares equal to the product of:
(i) the
sum of (A) number of Performance Shares specified in the applicable Award
Agreement and (B) the number of additional Shares that would have been issuable
if such Performance Shares had been Shares outstanding throughout the
Performance Period and the stock dividends, cash dividends (except as otherwise
provided in the Award Agreement), and other property paid in respect of such
Shares had been reinvested in additional Shares as of each dividend payment
date, multiplied by
(ii) the
Performance Percentage achieved during such Performance Period.
The
Committee may, in its discretion, determine that cash be paid in lieu of some or
all of such Shares. The amount of cash payable in lieu of a Share
shall be determined by valuing such Share at its Fair Market Value on the
business day immediately preceding the date such cash is to be
paid. Payments pursuant to this Section 8 shall be made as soon as
administratively practical after the end of the applicable Performance
Period. Any Performance Shares with respect to which the performance
goals shall not have been achieved by the end of the applicable Performance
Period shall expire.
9. Loans. The
Committee may in its discretion allow a Grantee to defer payment to the Company
of all or any portion of (a) the Option Price of an option, (b) the purchase
price of Restricted Shares, or (c) any taxes associated with the exercise,
nonforfeitability of, or payment of benefits in connection with, an
Award. Any such payment deferral by the Company shall be on such
terms and conditions as the Committee may determine, except that a Grantee shall
not be entitled to defer the payment of such Option Price, purchase price, or
any related taxes unless the Grantee (a) enters into a binding obligation to pay
the deferred amount and (b) other than with respect to treasury shares, pays
upon exercise of an option or grant of Restricted Shares, as applicable, an
amount at least equal to the Minimum Consideration therefor. If the
Committee has permitted a payment deferral in accordance with this Section 9,
then the Committee may require the immediate payment of such deferred amount
upon the Grantee’s termination of employment or if the Grantee sells or
otherwise transfers his or her Shares purchased pursuant to such
deferral. The Committee may at any time in its discretion forgive the
repayment of any or all of the principal of, or interest on, any such deferred
payment obligation.
10. Notification under Section
83(b). If the Grantee, in connection with the exercise of any
option or the grant of Restricted Shares, makes the election permitted under
Section 83(b) of the Code to include in such Grantee’s gross income in the year
of transfer the amounts specified in Section 83(b) of the Code, then such
Grantee shall notify the Company, in writing, of such election within ten (10)
days after filing the notice of the election with the Internal Revenue Service,
in addition to any filing and notification required pursuant to regulations
issued under Section 83(b) of the Code. The Committee may, in
connection with the grant of an Award or at any time thereafter, prohibit a
Grantee from making the election described in this Section 10.
11. Mandatory Tax
Withholding.
(a) Whenever
under the Plan, Shares are to be delivered upon exercise or payment of an Award
or upon Restricted Shares becoming nonforfeitable, or any other event with
respect to rights and benefits hereunder, the Company shall be entitled to
require (i) that the Grantee remit an amount in cash, or in the Company’s
discretion, Mature Shares or any other form of consideration, sufficient to
satisfy all federal, state and local tax withholding requirements related
thereto (“Required
Withholding”), (ii) the withholding of such Required Withholding from
compensation otherwise due to the Grantee or from any Shares due to the Grantee
under the Plan, or (iii) any combination of the foregoing.
(b) Any
Grantee who makes a Disqualifying Disposition or an election under Section 83(b)
of the Code shall remit to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy all
resulting Required Withholding, except that in lieu of or in addition to the
foregoing, the Company shall have the right to withhold such Required
Withholding from compensation otherwise due to the Grantee or from any Shares or
other payment due to the Grantee under the Plan.
(c) Any
surrender by a Section 16 Grantee of previously owned shares of Common Stock to
satisfy tax withholding arising upon exercise of the Award must comply with the
applicable provisions of Rule 16b-3(e) under the 1934 Act.
12. Elective Share
Withholding. At the Company’s discretion, a Grantee may, with
the prior consent of the Committee, elect the withholding by the Company of a
portion of the Shares otherwise deliverable to such Grantee upon the exercise of
an Award or upon Restricted Shares becoming nonforfeitable (each, a “Taxable Event”)
having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum amount necessary to satisfy the
Required Withholding liability attributable to the Taxable Event.
13. Termination of
Employment.
(a) For
Cause. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in an
Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s employment is terminated for Cause, (i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date, subject to the provisions of Section 6(f)(iii) regarding
repayment of certain amounts to the Grantee; and (ii) any unexercised option,
SAR or Performance Share shall terminate effective immediately upon such
termination of employment.
(b) On Account of
Death. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the
Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s employment terminates on account of death,
then:
(i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date;
(ii) any
unexercised option or SAR, to the extent exercisable on the date of such
termination of employment, may be exercised, in whole or in part, within the
first twelve (12) months after such termination of employment (but only during
the Option Term) after the death of the Grantee by (A) his or her personal
representative or by the person to whom the option or SAR, as applicable, is
transferred by will or the applicable laws of descent and distribution, (B) the
Grantee’s designated beneficiary, or (C) a Permitted Transferee;
and
(iii) any
unexercised Performance Shares may be exercised in whole or in part, at any time
within six (6) months after such termination of employment on account of the
death of the Grantee, by (A) his or her personal representative or by the person
to whom the Performance Shares are transferred by will or the applicable laws of
descent and distribution, (B) the Grantee’s designated beneficiary, or (C) a
Permitted Transferee, except that the benefit payable with respect to any
Performance Shares for which the Performance Period has not ended as of the date
of such termination of employment on account of death shall be equal to the
product of Fair Market Value of such Performance Shares multiplied successively
by each of the following:
(A) a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months (including as a whole
month any partial month) that has elapsed since the beginning of such
Performance Period until the date of such termination of employment and the
denominator of which is the number of months (including as a whole month any
partial month) in the Performance Period; and
(B) a
percentage determined in the discretion of the Committee that would be earned
under the terms of the applicable Award Agreement assuming that the rate at
which the performance goals have been achieved as of the date of such
termination of employment would continue until the end of the Performance
Period, or, if the Committee elects to compute the benefit after the end of the
Performance Period, the Performance Percentage, as determined by the Committee,
attained during the Performance Period for such Performance Shares.
(c) On Account of
Disability. Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in
the Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s employment terminates on account of
Disability, then:
(i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date;
(ii) any
unexercised option or SAR, to the extent exercisable on the date of such
termination of employment, may be exercised in whole or in part, within the
first twelve (12) months after such termination of employment (but only during
the Option Term) by the Grantee, or by (A) his or her personal representative or
by the person to whom the option or SAR, as applicable, is transferred by will
or the applicable laws of descent and distribution, (B) the Grantee’s designated
beneficiary, or (C) a Permitted Transferee; and
(iii) any
unexercised Performance Shares may be exercised in whole or in part, at any time
within six (6) months after such termination of employment on account of
Disability by the Grantee, or by (A) his personal representative or by the
person to whom the Performance Shares are transferred by will or the applicable
laws of descent and distribution, (B) the Grantee’s designated beneficiary, or
(C) a Permitted Transferee, except that the benefit payable with respect to any
Performance Shares for which the Performance Period has not ended as of the date
of such termination of employment on account of Disability shall be equal to the
product of the Fair Market Value of the Performance Shares multiplied
successively by each of the following:
(A) a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months (including as a whole
month any partial month) that have elapsed since the beginning of such
Performance Period until the date of such termination of employment and the
denominator of which is the number of months (including as a whole month any
partial month) in the Performance Period; and
(B) a
percentage determined in the discretion of the Committee that would be earned
under the terms of the applicable Award Agreement assuming that the rate at
which the performance goals have been achieved as of the date of such
termination of employment would continue until the end of the Performance
Period, or, if the Committee elects to compute the benefit after the end of the
Performance Period, the Performance Percentage, as determined by the Committee,
attained during the Performance Period for such Performance Shares.
(d) Any Reason Other Than For
Cause Or On Account of Death or Disability. Except as
otherwise provided by the Committee in the Award Agreement, if a Grantee’s
employment terminates for any reason other than for Cause, or on account of
death or Disability, then:
(i) the
Grantee’s Restricted Shares (and any SARs identified therewith), that are then
forfeitable shall on the date of the Grantee’s termination of employment be
forfeited on such date;
(ii) any
unexercised option or SAR (other than a SAR identified with a Restricted Share
or Performance Share), to the extent exercisable immediately before the
Grantee’s termination of employment, may be exercised in whole or in part, not
later than three (3) months after such termination of employment (but only
during the Option Term); and
(iii) the
Grantee’s Performance Shares (and any SARs identified therewith) shall terminate
effective immediately upon such termination of employment.
14. Substituted
Awards. If the Committee cancels any Award (whether granted
under the Plan or any plan of any entity acquired by the Company or a
Subsidiary), the Committee may, in its discretion, substitute a new Award
therefor upon such terms and conditions consistent with the Plan as the
Committee may determine, except that (a) the Option Price of any new option, and
the Strike Price of any new SAR, shall not be less than one hundred percent
(100%) (one hundred ten percent (110%) in the case of an incentive stock option
granted to a Ten Percent Owner) of the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date
of the grant of the new Award; and (b) the Grant Date of the new Award shall be
the date on which such new Award is granted.
15 Securities Law
Matters.
(a) If
the Committee deems necessary to comply with any applicable securities law, the
Committee may require a written investment intent representation by the Grantee
and may require that a restrictive legend be affixed to certificates for
Shares. If, based upon the advice of counsel to the Company, the
Committee determines that the exercise or nonforfeitability of, or delivery of
benefits pursuant to, any Award would violate any applicable provision of (i)
federal or state securities laws or (ii) the listing requirements of any
national exchange or national market system on which are listed any of the
Company’s equity securities, then the Committee may postpone any such exercise,
nonforfeitability or delivery, as applicable, but the Company shall use all
reasonable efforts to cause such exercise, nonforfeitability or delivery to
comply with all such provisions at the earliest practicable date.
(b) Grants
of options to Section 16 Grantees shall comply with Rule 16b-3 and shall contain
such additional conditions or restrictions as may be required thereunder for
such grants to qualify for exemption from liability under Section 16(b) of the
1934 Act.
16. No Employment
Rights. Neither the establishment of the Plan nor the grant of
any Award shall (a) give any Grantee the right to remain employed by the Company
or any Subsidiary or to any benefits not specifically provided by the Plan or
(b) modify the right of the Company or any Subsidiary to modify, amend, or
terminate the Plan or any other employee benefit plan or employment
agreement.
17. No Rights as a
Shareholder. A Grantee shall not have any rights as a
shareholder of the Company with respect to the Shares (other than Restricted
Shares) which may be deliverable upon exercise or payment of an Award until such
Shares have been delivered to him or her. Restricted Shares, whether
held by a Grantee or in escrow by the Company, shall confer on the Grantee all
rights of a shareholder of the Company, except as otherwise provided in the Plan
or applicable Award Agreement.
18. Nature of
Payments. Awards shall be special incentive payments to the
Grantee and shall not be taken into account in computing the amount of salary or
compensation of the Grantee for purposes of determining any pension, retirement,
death or other benefit under (a) any pension, retirement, profit-sharing, bonus,
insurance or other employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary or (b)
any agreement between (i) the Company or any Subsidiary and (ii) the Grantee,
except as such plan or agreement shall otherwise expressly provide.
19. Non-uniform
Determinations. The Committee’s determinations under the Plan
need not be uniform and may be made by the Committee selectively among persons
who receive, or are eligible to receive, Awards, whether or not such persons are
similarly situated. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
the Committee shall be entitled to enter into non-uniform and selective Award
Agreements as to (a) the identity of the Grantees, (b) the terms and provisions
of Awards, including, without limitation, vesting and manner of payment of
purchase price upon exercise, and (c) the treatment of terminations of
employment.
20. Adjustments. The
Committee shall make equitable adjustment of:
(a) the
aggregate number of Shares available under the Plan for Awards and the aggregate
number of Shares for which Awards may be granted to any individual Grantee in
any calendar year pursuant to the second sentence of Section 2;
(b) the
number of Shares, SARs or Performance Shares covered by an Award;
and
(c) the
Option Price of all outstanding options and the Strike Price of all outstanding
SARs;
to
reflect a stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, share combination,
recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, split-off, reorganization,
rights offering, liquidation or similar event of or by the Company.
21. Amendment of the
Plan. The Committee may from time to time, in its discretion,
amend the Plan without the approval of the Company’s shareholders, except (a) as
such shareholder approval may be required under the listing requirements of any
securities exchange or national market system on which are listed the Company’s
equity securities and (b) that the Committee may not without the approval of the
Company’s shareholders amend the Plan to increase the total number of shares
reserved for the purposes of the Plan (other than in accordance with Section
20).
22. Termination of the
Plan. The Plan shall continue in effect until the earlier of
its termination by the Committee or the date on which all of the shares of
Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan have been issued and all
restrictions on such shares under the terms of the Plan and the agreements
evidencing Awards granted under the Plan have lapsed. However, all
Awards shall be granted, if at all, within ten (10) years from the earlier of
the date the Plan is adopted by the Committee or the date the Plan is duly
approved by the shareholders of the Company. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to
the Plan has been increased at any time, all Awards shall be granted, if at all,
no later than the last day preceding the ten (10) year anniversary of the
earlier of (a) the date on which the latest such increase in the maximum number
of shares of Common Stock issuable under the Plan was approved by the
shareholders of the Company or (b) the date such amendment was adopted by the
Committee. No termination shall affect any Award then outstanding
under the Plan.
23. No Illegal
Transactions. The Plan and all Awards granted pursuant to it
are subject to all applicable laws and regulations. Notwithstanding
any provision of the Plan or any Award, Grantees shall not be entitled to
exercise, or receive benefits under any Award, and the Company shall not be
obligated to deliver any Shares or deliver benefits to a Grantee, if such
exercise or delivery would constitute a violation by the Grantee or the Company
of any applicable law or regulation.
24. Constructive
Sales. The Grantee shall not directly or indirectly, through
related parties or otherwise, “short” or “short against the box” (as those terms
are generally understood in the securities markets), or otherwise directly or
indirectly (through derivative instruments or otherwise) dispose of or hedge,
any securities of the Company issuable upon exercise of such Grantee’s
Award(s).
25. Definitions. The
terms set forth below have the indicated meanings which are applicable to both
the singular and plural forms thereof:
“Award” shall mean
options, including ISOs, Restricted Shares, Compensatory Shares, SARs or
Performance Shares granted under the Plan.
“Award Agreement”
shall mean the written agreement by which an Award shall be
evidenced.
“Board” shall mean the
Board of Directors of the Company.
“Cause”, with respect
to any employee or consultant of the Company shall have the meaning set forth in
such person’s employment or consulting agreement or, in the absence of such an
agreement or if such term is not defined in such agreement, shall mean any one
or more of the following, as determined by the Committee (in the case of a
Section 16 Grantee) or the Chief Executive Officer or President of the Company
(in the case of any other Grantee):
(i) a
Grantee’s commission of a crime that is likely to result in injury to the
Company or a Subsidiary;
(ii) the
material violation by the Grantee of written policies of the Company or a
Subsidiary;
(iii) the
habitual neglect by the Grantee in the performance of his or her duties to the
Company or a Subsidiary; or
(iv) a
Grantee’s willful misconduct or inaction in connection with his or her duties to
the Company or a Subsidiary resulting in a material injury to the Company or a
Subsidiary.
“Code” shall mean the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended or superseded, and the regulations and
rulings thereunder. Reference to a particular section of the Code
shall include references to successor provisions.
“Committee” shall mean
the committee of the Board appointed pursuant to Section 3(a), or if not so
appointed or unable to act or with reference to Awards to Independent Directors,
shall mean the entire Board.
“Common Stock” shall
mean the common stock, $0.10 par value per share, of the Company.
“Compensatory Shares”
shall mean Shares that are awarded to a Grantee without cost and without
restrictions either as a bonus, in lieu of cash compensation for services
rendered to the Company or for any other compensatory purpose.
“Consultant” shall
mean any person, including a Director, who is engaged by the Company or any
Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof to render services to or for the benefit
of the Company and is compensated for such services, including any member of the
Advisory Board of the Company.
“Director” shall mean
a member of the Board.
“Disability” shall
mean a permanent and total disability, within the meaning of Section
22(e)(3) of the Code.
“Effective Date” shall
mean the date set forth in the first paragraph hereof.
“Eligible Person”
shall mean any Employee, Consultant or Director of the Company or any
Subsidiary, including any prospective Employee or Employee on an approved leave
of absence or layoff, if such leave or layoff does not qualify as a
Disability.
“Employee” shall mean
any person treated as an employee (including officers and directors) in the
records of the Company (or Subsidiary) and who is subject to the control and
direction of the Company (or Subsidiary) with regard to both the work to be
performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a
director’s fee by the Company (or Subsidiary) to a Director shall not be
sufficient to constitute “employment” of the Director by the Company (or
Subsidiary).
“Fair Market Value”
per share of Common Stock on any relevant date shall mean such value as
determined in accordance with the following provisions:
(i) If
the Common Stock is at that time listed on a national securities exchange, then
the Fair Market Value shall mean the closing selling price per share of Common
Stock on the exchange on which such Common Stock is principally traded on the
relevant date or, if there were no sales on that date, the closing selling price
of such Common Stock on the last preceding date on which there were
sales.
(ii) If
the Common Stock is at that time traded on the Nasdaq Market®, Nasdaq
Small Cap MarketSM or OTC
Bulletin Board®, as the
case may be, then the Fair Market Value shall mean the closing selling price per
share of Common Stock on the relevant date, as the price is reported by the
National Association of Securities Dealers on the Nasdaq Market®, Nasdaq
Small Cap MarketSM or OTC
Bulletin Board®, as the
case may be, or any successor system. If there is no closing selling
price for the Common Stock on the relevant date, then the Fair Market Value
shall mean the closing selling price on the last preceding date for which such
quotation exists.
(iii) If
the Common Stock is neither listed on any national securities exchange nor
traded on the Nasdaq Market®, Nasdaq
Small Cap MarketSM or OTC
Bulletin Board®, then
the Fair Market Value shall mean that value determined by the Committee after
taking into account such factors as the Committee shall in good faith deem
appropriate.
“Grant Date” shall
have the meaning specified in Section 6(a).
“Grantee” shall mean a
person who has been granted an Award or any Permitted Transferee.
“ISO” shall mean an
incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the
Code.
“Immediate Family”
shall mean, with respect to a particular Grantee, the Grantee’s spouse, children
and grandchildren.
“Independent Director”
shall mean a member of the Board who in not an Employee of the
Company.
“Mature Shares” shall
mean Shares for which the holder thereof has good title, free and clear of all
liens and encumbrances, and which such holder has held for at least six (6)
months.
“Minimum
Consideration” shall mean par value per Share or such other amount that
is from time to time considered to be minimum consideration under applicable
law.
“1934 Act” shall mean
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. References to a
particular section of the 1934 Act or rule thereunder, include references to
successor provisions.
“Option Price” shall
mean the per share exercise price of an option.
“Option Term” shall
mean the period beginning on the Grant Date of an option and ending on the
expiration date of such option, as specified in the Award Agreement for such
option and as may, in the discretion of the Committee and consistent with the
provisions of the Plan, be extended from time to time.
“Performance Shares”
shall mean an Award to a Grantee pursuant to Section 6(e).
“Permitted Transferee”
shall mean a person to whom an Award may be transferred or assigned in
accordance with Section 7.
“Public Company” shall
mean any entity issuing any class of equity securities that has been, or is
required to be, registered under Section 12 of the 1934 Act.
“Restricted Shares”
shall mean Shares that are subject to forfeiture if the Grantee does not satisfy
the conditions specified in the Award Agreement applicable to those
Shares.
“Rule 16b-3” shall
mean Rule 16b-3 of the SEC under the 1934 Act, as amended from time to time,
together with any successor rule.
“SAR” shall mean a
stock appreciation right.
“SEC” shall mean the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Section 16 Grantee”
shall mean a person who is subject to potential liability under Section 16(b) of
the 1934 Act with respect to transactions involving equity securities of the
Company.
“Share” shall mean a
share of Common Stock.
“Strike Price” shall
have the meaning specified in Section 6(d)(ii).
“Subsidiary” shall
mean a subsidiary corporation, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code (with
the Company being treated as the employer corporation for purposes of this
definition).
“Ten Percent Owner”
shall mean a person who owns capital stock (including stock treated as owned
under Section 424(d) of the Code) possessing more than ten percent of the total
combined Voting Power of all classes of capital stock of the Company or any
Subsidiary.
“Voting Power” shall
mean the combined voting power of the then-outstanding securities of the Company
entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.
26. Controlling
Law. The law of the State of New York, except its law with
respect to choice of law, shall control all matters relating to the
Plan.
27. Severability. If
any part of the Plan is declared by any court or governmental authority to be
unlawful or invalid, such unlawfulness or invalidity shall not invalidate any
other part of the Plan. Any Section or part of a Section so declared
to be unlawful or invalid shall, if possible, be construed in a manner which
will given effect to the terms of such Section to the fullest extent possible
while remaining lawful and valid.
ANNEX C
PROPOSED
AMENDMENT TO
CERTIFICATE
OF INCORPORATION OF
PERVASIP
CORP.
Proposed Amendments to Certificate of
Incorporation. The following provision reflects the manner in
which the applicable section of the Certificate of Incorporation of Pervasip
Corp. will be amended if Proxy Item 3 is approved by the shareholders at the
annual meeting. If the foregoing Proxy Item is not approved by the
shareholders, then the language pertaining to such Proxy Item will not be filed
as a the Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of the State of New
York.
The first paragraph of Article FOURTH
of the company’s Certificate of Incorporation is amended in its entirety to read
as follows:
“Fourth: A. Authorized
Shares. The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the
Company shall have the authority to issue is One Two Hundred Fifty-One Million
(151,000,000251,000,000), of which OneTwo Hundred Fifty Million
(150,000,000250,000,000) shall be common
stock, par value $.10 per share, and One Million (1,000,000) shall be preferred
stock, par value $.10 per share.”