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Accelerated Vesting
Accelerated Vesting contract clause examples

Accelerated Vesting and Payout. In the event Section 12(a) does not apply, upon a Change in Control: # all outstanding Options and Stock Appreciation Rights shall become vested and exercisable immediately prior to the Change in Control; # all outstanding unvested Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit Awards shall become vested immediately prior to the Change in Control; and # the Committee (as constituted prior to the Change in Control) shall provide that in connection with the Change in Control # each Option and Stock Appreciation Right shall be cancelled in exchange for an amount (payable in accordance with the following sentence) equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the date of the Change in Control over the Option Exercise Price for such Option or the base value/strike price applicable to such Stock Appreciation Right (provided, however, that in the case of a Tandem SAR, such excess shall be paid once rather than twice) and # each Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit Award shall be cancelled in exchange for an amount (payable in accordance with the following sentence) equal to the Change in Control Price multiplied by the number of shares of Stock covered by such Award. Payment of any amounts calculated in accordance with this Section 12(b) shall be made in cash or, if determined by the Committee (as constituted prior to the Change in Control), in shares of the stock of the New Company having an aggregate fair market value (determined by such Committee in good faith) equal to such amount or in a combination of such shares of stock and cash. All amounts payable hereunder shall be payable in full, as soon as reasonably practicable, but in no event later than 10 business days, following the Change in Control.

Accelerated Vesting and Payout. In the event Section 11(a) does not apply, upon a Change in Control: # all outstanding Options and Stock Appreciation Rights shall become vested and exercisable immediately prior to the Change in Control; # all outstanding unvested Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit Awards shall become vested immediately prior to the Change in Control; and # the Committee (as constituted prior to the Change in Control) shall provide that in connection with the Change in Control # each Option and Stock Appreciation Right shall be cancelled in exchange for an amount (payable in accordance with the following sentence) equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the date of the Change in Control over the Option Exercise Price for such Option or the base value/strike price applicable to such Stock Appreciation Right and # each Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit Award shall be cancelled in exchange for an amount (payable in accordance with the following sentence) equal to the Change in Control Price multiplied by the number of shares of Stock covered by such Award, with any Performance-Based Awards deemed to have been earned in full at the higher of Target or a multiple of Target (determined by reference to the Award Agreement) based on the level of achievement through the date of the Change in Control, if such level of achievement is determinable by the Committee at the time of the Change in Control. Payment of any amounts calculated in accordance with this Section 11(b) shall be made in cash or, if determined by the Committee (as constituted prior to the Change in Control), in shares of the stock of the New Company having an aggregate fair market value (determined by such Committee in good faith) equal to such amount or in a combination of such shares of stock and cash. All amounts payable hereunder shall be payable in full, as soon as reasonably practicable, but in no event later than 10 business days, following the Change in Control. Notwithstanding any provision of this Section 11 to the contrary, payment of any Award Installment subject to and not exempt from [Section 409A] will not be accelerated upon a Change in Control unless # the Change in Control constitutes a change in the ownership of the Company, a change in effective control of the Company, or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the Company’s assets, each, as applicable, as defined in, and determined in accordance with, [Section 409A], or # such accelerated payment does not otherwise cause any Award to be subject to adverse tax consequences to any person under Section 409A.

Change in Control. In the event of a Change in Control after the Effective Date, the Committee may, but shall not be obligated to, # accelerate, vest or cause the restrictions to lapse with respect to, all or any portion of an Award or # cancel Awards for fair value (as determined in the sole discretion of the Committee) which, in the case of Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, may equal the excess, if any, of value of the consideration to be paid in the Change in Control transaction to holders of the same number of Shares subject to such Options or Stock Appreciation Rights (or, if no consideration is paid in any such transaction, the Fair Market Value of the Shares subject to such Options or Stock Appreciation Rights) over the aggregate exercise price of such Options or Stock Appreciation Rights or # provide for the issuance of substitute Awards that will substantially preserve the otherwise applicable terms of any affected Awards previously granted hereunder as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion or # provide that for a period of at least 30 days prior to the Change in Control, such Options shall be exercisable as to all shares subject thereto and that upon the occurrence of the Change in Control, such Options shall terminate and be of no further force and effect.

Upon the occurrence of a “Change in Control” (as hereinafter defined), the Committee may accelerate the vesting and exercisability of outstanding Options, in whole or in part, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion. In its sole discretion, the Committee may also determine that, upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, each outstanding Option shall terminate within a specified number of days after notice to the Optionee thereunder, and each such Optionee shall receive, with respect to each share of Company Stock subject to such Option, an amount equal to the excess of the Fair Market Value of such shares immediately prior to such Change in Control over the exercise price per share of such Option; such amount shall be payable in cash, in one or more kinds of property (including the property, if any, payable in the transaction) or a combination thereof, as the Committee shall determine in its sole discretion.

Awards not Assumed or Substituted by Surviving Entity. Upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, and except with respect to any Options or Awards assumed by the surviving entity or otherwise equitably converted or substituted in connection with the Change in Control: # outstanding Options and Stock Appreciation Rights shall become fully vested and exercisable, # time-based vesting restrictions on outstanding Awards shall lapse, and # unless otherwise provided in the Agreement, the target payout opportunities attainable under outstanding performance-based Awards shall be deemed to have been earned as of the effective date of the Change in Control based upon an assumed achievement of all relevant performance goals at the target level, or at a level in excess of target in the Committee’s discretion, and there shall be a pro rata payout to Grantees within sixty (60) days following the Change in Control based upon the length of time within the performance period that has elapsed prior to the Change in Control. To the extent that this provision causes Incentive Stock Options to no longer satisfy the requirements of Code Section 422, the affected Options shall be deemed to be Nonqualified Stock Options.

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