Change in Control. In the event of a Change in Control, the Committee may in its sole and absolute discretion and authority, without obtaining the approval or consent of the Company’s stockholders or any Participant with respect to his or her outstanding Awards, take one or more of the following actions:

Change in Control. In order to preserve a Participant’s rights under an Award in the event of a change in control of the Company (as defined by the Committee), the Committee in its discretion may, at the time an Award is made or at any time thereafter, take such actions, including without limitation one or more of the following: # providing for the acceleration of any time period relating to the exercise or payment of the Award, # providing for payment to the Participant of cash or other property with a Fair Market Value equal to the amount that would have been received upon the exercise or payment of the Award had the Award been exercised or paid upon the change in control, whereupon the Award shall terminate, # adjusting the terms of the Award in a manner determined by the Committee to reflect the change in control, or # causing the Award to be assumed, or new rights substituted therefor, by another entity, as the Committee may consider equitable to Participants and in the best interests of the Company.

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.