Example ContractsClauseschange in controlVariants
Change-in-Control
Change-in-Control contract clause examples

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.

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 Common 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.

The Committee, in its discretion, and to the extent applicable, consistent with Section 162(m) of the Code, may determine that, upon the occurrence of a Change in Control of the Company, each Option and Stock Appreciation Right outstanding shall terminate within a specified number of days after notice to the Participant, and/or that each Participant shall receive, with respect to each Share subject to such Option or Stock Appreciation Right, an amount equal to the excess of the Fair Market Value of such Share immediately prior to the occurrence of such Change in Control over the exercise price per share of such Option and/or Stock Appreciation Right; such amount to be payable in cash, in one or more kinds of stock or property (including the stock or property, if any, payable in the transaction) or in a combination thereof, as the Committee, in its discretion, shall determine.

Impact on Certain Awards. Award Agreements may provide that in the event of a Change in Control of the Company: # Options and Stock Appreciation Rights outstanding as of the date of the Change in Control shall be cancelled and terminated without payment therefor if the Fair Market Value of one Share as of the date of the Change in Control is less than the per Share Option exercise price or Stock Appreciation Right grant price, and # all Performance Awards shall be considered to be earned and payable (either in full or pro rata based on the portion of Performance Period completed as of the date of the Change in Control and either based on achievement of target or actual performance during such period), and any limitations or other restriction shall lapse and such Performance Awards shall be immediately settled or distributed.

In the event of a Change in Control of the Company, the Committee, as constituted before such Change in Control, in its sole discretion and without the consent of the Participant, may, as to any outstanding Award, either at the time the Award is made or any time thereafter, take any one or more of the following actions: # provide for acceleration of the vesting, delivery and exercisability of, and the lapse of time-based and/or performance-based vesting restrictions with respect to, any such Award so that such Award may be exercised or realized in full on or before a date initially fixed by the Committee; # provide for the purchase, settlement or cancellation of any such Award by the Company, for an amount of cash equal to the amount which could have been obtained upon the exercise of such Award or realization of such Participant's rights had such Award been currently exercisable or payable; # provide for the replacement of any such Stock-settled Award with a cash-settled Award; # make such adjustment to any such Award then outstanding as the Committee deems appropriate to reflect such Change in Control and to retain the economic value of the Award; or # cause any such Award then outstanding to be assumed, or new rights substituted therefor, by the acquiring or surviving corporation in such Change in Control.

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.

Notwithstanding any provision of any Agreement to the contrary, in the event of or in anticipation of a Change in Control, the Committee in its discretion may # declare that some or all outstanding Awards previously granted under the Plan, whether or not then exercisable or payable, shall terminate as of a date before or on the Change in Control without any payment to the holder of the Award, provided the Committee gives prior written notice to the Participants of such termination and gives such Participants the right to exercise their outstanding Awards for a reasonable time before such date to the extent then exercisable (or to the extent such Awards would be exercisable as of the Control Change Date), # terminate before or on the Control Change Date some or all outstanding Awards previously granted under the Plan, whether or not then exercisable or payable, in consideration of payment to the holder of the Award, with respect to each share of Common Stock for which the Award is then exercisable or payable (or for which the Award would have been exercisable or payable as of the Control Change Date), of the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value on such date of the Common Stock subject to such portion of the Award over the Option price or Initial Value (if applicable) (provided that outstanding Awards that are not then exercisable or payable and that would not become exercisable or payable on the Control Change Date, and Options and SARs with respect to which the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Options or SARs does not exceed the Option price or Initial Value, shall be cancelled without any payment therefor) or # take such other action as the Committee determines to be reasonable under the circumstances (including, but not limited to, accelerating vesting, substituting awards with respect to the surviving company and/or continuation of the Plan) to permit the Participant to realize the value of the Award (which value for purposes of Awards that are not then exercisable or payable and that would not become exercisable or payable as of the Control Change Date, and Options and SARs with respect to which the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Award does not exceed the Option price or Initial Value, shall be deemed to be zero). The payment described in # above may be made in any manner the Committee determines, including cash, stock or other property. The Committee may take the actions described in [(i), (ii) or (iii) above] with respect to Awards that are not then exercisable or payable whether or not the Participant will receive any payment therefor. The Committee in its discretion may take any of the actions described in this Section contingent on consummation of the Change in Control and with respect to some or all outstanding Awards, whether or not then exercisable or payable, or on an Award-by-Award basis, which actions need not be uniform with respect to all outstanding Awards. However, Awards shall not be terminated to the extent that written provision is made for their continuance, assumption or substitution by the Company or a successor employer or its parent or subsidiary in connection with the Change in Control. The Committee may provide in an applicable Agreement that a Participant’s outstanding Awards shall be fully exercisable or payable on and after a Control Change Date or immediately before the date the Awards will be terminated in connection with the Change in Control, as described herein.

Awards not Assumed or Substituted by Surviving Entity. Upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, and except with respect to any Awards assumed by the Surviving Entity or otherwise equitably converted or substituted in connection with the Change in Control in a manner approved by the Committee or the Board: # outstanding Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, and other Awards in the nature of rights that may be exercised shall become fully exercisable, # time-based vesting restrictions on outstanding Awards shall lapse, and # the target payout opportunities attainable under outstanding performance-based Awards shall be deemed to have been fully 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 if the Change in Control occurs during the first half of the applicable performance period, or # the actual level of achievement of all relevant performance goals against target measured as of the date of the Change in Control, if the Change in Control occurs during the second half of the applicable performance period, and, in either such case, there shall be a pro rata payout to Participants 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. Any Awards shall thereafter continue or lapse in accordance with the other provisions of the Plan and the Award Agreement. To the extent that this provision causes Incentive Stock Options to exceed the dollar limitation set forth in Code Section 422(d), the excess Options shall be deemed to be Non-Qualified Stock Options.

Effect of Change in Control. In the event of a Change in Control, all Options (other than Options granted to Directors) outstanding on the date of such Change in Control shall become immediately and fully exercisable, provided, however, that the Committee shall have the authority to grant Options that do not become immediately and fully exercisable in the event of a Change in Control by including such provision in the Option Agreement evidencing such Option. Notwithstanding anything else herein to the contrary, in the event of a Change in Control, the Board in its sole discretion has the authority to terminate any and all Options and Awards, and to pay to the holder of the Options or Awards the value of such Options and Awards.

Draft better contracts
faster with AllDrafts

AllDrafts is a cloud-based editor designed specifically for contracts. With automatic formatting, a massive clause library, smart redaction, and insanely easy templates, it’s a welcome change from Word.

And AllDrafts generates clean Word and PDF files from any draft.