Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement and Notice of Grant Award under 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (Standard)

Exhibit 10.4

ARCA biopharma, Inc.
Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice
(2020 Equity Incentive Plan)

ARCA biopharma, Inc. (the “Company”), pursuant to the Company’s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), hereby awards to Participant a Restricted Stock Unit Award covering the number of restricted stock units (the “Restricted Stock Units”) set forth below (the “Award”).  The Award is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth in this Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice (the “Notice”), the 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), and the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (the “Award Agreement”).  Capitalized terms not explicitly defined herein but defined in the Plan or the Award Agreement will have the same definitions as in the Plan or the Award Agreement.  In the event of any conflict between the terms of the Award and the Plan, the terms of the Plan will control.

Participant:

Date of Grant:

Vesting Commencement Date:

Number of Restricted Stock Units:

Vesting Schedule:  [As determined by the Board at the time of grant]¹

Each installment of RSUs that vests hereunder is a “separate payment” for purposes of Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-2(b)(2).  

Delivery Schedule:  Subject to any change on a Capitalization Adjustment, one share of Common Stock will be issued for each RSU that vests at the time set forth in Section 3 of the Award Agreement.

Additional Terms/Acknowledgements:  Your signature below or online acceptance (if applicable) indicates that you have read and agree to be bound by the terms of this Notice, the Award Agreement, and the Plan.  You further agree that as of the Date of Grant, this Notice, Award Agreement, and the Plan, set forth the entire understanding between Participant and the Company regarding the Award and supersede all prior oral and written agreements on the terms of the Award, with the exception of (i) awards previously granted and delivered to you under the Plan, and (ii) if applicable to you, (A) the terms of any written offer letter or employment agreement entered into between the Company and you that specifically provides for accelerated vesting of compensatory equity awards, (B) the terms of any applicable Company change of control severance plan, and (C) any required compensation recovery provisions under applicable laws or regulations.  By accepting this Award, Participant consents to receive documents by electronic delivery and to participate in the Plan through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company.

ARCA biopharma, Inc.Participant

By:

SignatureSignature

Title: Date:

Date:

ARCA biopharma, Inc.

2020 Equity Incentive Plan

Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement

Pursuant to the Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice (“Notice”) and this Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (the “Award Agreement”), ARCA biopharma, Inc. (the “Company”) has awarded you a Restricted Stock Unit Award (the “Award”) under the Company’s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) for the number of Restricted Stock Units as indicated in the Notice.  Capitalized terms not explicitly defined in this Agreement but defined in the Plan will have the same definitions as in the Plan.  Subject to adjustment and the terms and conditions as provided herein and in the Plan, each Restricted Stock Unit will represent the right to receive one (1) share of Common Stock.

The details of your Award, in addition to those set forth in the Notice, are as follows.

1.Number of Restricted Stock Units and Shares of Common Stock.  The number of Restricted Stock Units in your Award is set forth in the Notice.

(a)The number of Restricted Stock Units subject to your Award and the number of shares of Common Stock deliverable with respect to such Restricted Stock Units may be adjusted from time to time for Capitalization Adjustments as described in Section 9(a) of the Plan.  

(b)Any additional Restricted Stock Units, shares of Common Stock, cash or other property that becomes subject to the Award pursuant to this Section 1 will be subject, in a manner determined by the Board, to the same forfeiture restrictions, restrictions on transferability, and time and manner of delivery as applicable to the other Restricted Stock Units and Common Stock covered by your Award.

(c)No fractional Restricted Stock Units or rights for fractional shares of Common Stock will be created pursuant to this Section 1.  Any fraction of a share will be rounded down to the nearest whole share.

2.Vesting.  The Restricted Stock Units will vest, if at all, as provided in the Vesting Schedule set forth in your Notice and the Plan.  Vesting will cease upon the termination of your Continuous Service.  Any Restricted Stock Units that have not yet vested will be forfeited on the termination of your Continuous Service.

3.Date of Issuance.  

(a)The issuance of shares in respect of the Restricted Stock Units is intended to comply with Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) and will be construed and administered in such a manner.

(b)Subject to the satisfaction of the withholding obligations set forth in Section 10 of this Agreement, in the event one or more Restricted Stock Units vests, the Company will issue to you, on the applicable vesting date, one share of Common Stock for each Restricted Stock Unit that vests and such issuance date is referred to as the “Original Issuance

Date.” If the Original Issuance Date falls on a date that is not a business day, delivery will instead occur on the next following business day.

(c)However, if (i) on the Original Issuance Date the Common Stock is publicly traded, (ii) the Original Issuance Date does not occur (1) during an “open window period” applicable to you, as determined by the Company in accordance with the Company’s then-effective policy on trading in Company securities, or (2) on a date when you are otherwise permitted to sell shares of Common Stock on an established stock exchange or stock market (including but not limited to under a previously established Company-approved 10b5-1 trading plan), and (iii) the Company elects, prior to the Original Issuance Date, (1) not to satisfy the Withholding Taxes described in Section 10 by withholding shares of Common Stock from the shares otherwise due, on the Original Issuance Date, to you under this Award, (2) not to permit you to enter into a “same day sale” commitment with a broker-dealer pursuant to Section 10 of this Agreement (including but not limited to a commitment under a previously established Company-approved 10b5-1 trading plan) and (3) not to permit you to pay your Withholding Taxes in cash, then the shares that would otherwise be issued to you on the Original Issuance Date will not be delivered on such Original Issuance Date and will instead be delivered on the first business day when you are not prohibited from selling shares of the Company’s Common Stock in the open public market, but in no event later than December 31 of the calendar year in which the Original Issuance Date occurs (that is, the last day of your taxable year in which the Original Issuance Date occurs), or, if and only if permitted in a manner that complies with Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(4), no later than the date that is the 15th day of the third calendar month of the year following the year in which the shares of Common Stock under this Award are no longer subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(d).  

4.Payment by You.  This Award was granted in consideration of your services for the Company.  Subject to Section 10 below, except as otherwise provided in the Notice, you will not be required to make any payment to the Company (other than your past and future services for the Company) with respect to your receipt of the Award, vesting of the Restricted Stock Units, or the delivery of the shares of Common Stock underlying the Restricted Stock Units.

5.Securities Law Compliance.  You may not be issued any Common Stock under your Award unless the shares of Common Stock are either (i) then registered under the Securities Act, or (ii) the Company has determined that such issuance would be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.  Your Award must also comply with other applicable laws and regulations governing the Award, and you will not receive such Common Stock if the Company determines that such receipt would not be in material compliance with such laws and regulations.

6.Restrictive Legends.  The Common Stock issued under your Award will be endorsed with appropriate legends, if any, determined by the Company.

7.Transfer Restrictions.  Prior to the time that shares of Common Stock have been delivered to you, you may not transfer, pledge, sell or otherwise dispose of the shares in respect of your Award.  For example, you may not use shares that may be issued in respect of

your Restricted Stock Units as security for a loan, nor may you transfer, pledge, sell or otherwise dispose of such shares.  This restriction on transfer will lapse upon delivery to you of shares in respect of your vested Restricted Stock Units.  Your Award is not transferable, except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, you may designate a third party who, in the event of your death, will thereafter be entitled to receive any distribution of Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement.

8.Award not a Service Contract.  Your Continuous Service is not for any specified term and may be terminated by you or by the Company or an Affiliate at any time, for any reason, with or without cause and with or without notice. Nothing in this Agreement (including, but not limited to, the vesting of your Restricted Stock Units or the issuance of the shares subject to your Restricted Stock Units), the Plan or any covenant of good faith and fair dealing that may be found implicit in this Agreement or the Plan will: (i) confer upon you any right to continue in the employment or service of, or affiliation with, the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) constitute any promise or commitment by the Company or an Affiliate regarding the fact or nature of future positions, future work assignments, future compensation or any other term or condition of employment or affiliation; (iii) confer any right or benefit under this Agreement or the Plan unless such right or benefit has specifically accrued under the terms of this Agreement or Plan; or (iv) deprive the Company of the right to terminate you at will and without regard to any future vesting opportunity that you may have.

9.Unsecured Obligation.  Your Award is unfunded, and even as to any Restricted Stock Units which vest, you will be considered an unsecured creditor of the Company with respect to the Company’s obligation, if any, to issue Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement.  You will not have voting or any other rights as a stockholder of the Company with respect to the Common Stock acquired pursuant to this Agreement until such Common Stock is issued to you pursuant to Section 3 of this Agreement.   Upon such issuance, you will obtain full voting and other rights as a stockholder of the Company with respect to the Common Stock so issued.  Nothing contained in this Agreement, and no action taken pursuant to its provisions, will create or be construed to create a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between you and the Company or any other person.  

10.Withholding Obligations.

(a)On each vesting date, and on or before the time you receive a distribution of the shares underlying your Restricted Stock Units, and at any other time as reasonably requested by the Company in accordance with applicable tax laws, you agree to make adequate provision for any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or any Affiliate that arise in connection with your Award (the “Withholding Taxes”). Specifically, the Company or an Affiliate may, in its sole discretion, satisfy all or any portion of the Withholding Taxes relating to your Award by any of the following means or by a combination of such means: (i) withholding from any compensation otherwise payable to you by the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) causing you to tender a cash payment; (iii) permitting or requiring you to enter into a “same day sale” commitment with a broker-dealer that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (a “FINRA

Dealer”) whereby you irrevocably elect to sell a portion of the shares to be delivered in connection with your Restricted Stock Units to satisfy the Withholding Taxes and whereby the FINRA Dealer irrevocably commits to forward the proceeds necessary to satisfy the Withholding Taxes directly to the Company and/or its Affiliates; or (iv) withholding shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock issued or otherwise issuable to you in connection with your Restricted Stock Units with a Fair Market Value (measured as of the date shares of Common Stock are issued to you) equal to the amount of such Withholding Taxes; provided, however, that the number of such shares of Common Stock so withheld will not exceed the amount necessary to satisfy the Company’s required tax withholding obligations using the minimum statutory withholding rates for federal, state, local and foreign tax purposes, including payroll taxes, that are applicable to supplemental taxable income.

(b)Unless the Withholding Taxes of the Company and/or any Affiliate are satisfied, the Company will have no obligation to deliver to you any Common Stock.

(c)In the event the Company’s obligation to withhold arises prior to the delivery to you of Common Stock or it is determined after the delivery of Common Stock to you that the amount of the Company’s withholding obligation was greater than the amount withheld by the Company, you agree to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any failure by the Company to withhold the proper amount.

11.Dividend Equivalents.  In accordance with Section 6(b)(v) of the plan, the Restricted Stock Units subject to this Award will be credited with any dividends declared and paid by the Company on its Common Stock.  Such dividend equivalents will be converted into additional Restricted Stock Units by dividing (1) the aggregate amount or value of the dividends paid with respect to that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Restricted Stock Units then credited by (2) the Fair Market Value per share of Common Stock on the payment date for such dividend. The additional Restricted Stock Units credited by reason of such dividend equivalents will be subject to all the terms and conditions, including vesting, of this Award.

12.Notices.  The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to participation in the Plan and this Award by electronic means or to request your consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means.  Any notices provided for in this Agreement or the Plan will be given in writing (including electronically) and will be deemed effectively given upon receipt or, in the case of notices provided by mail, the date that is five (5) days after deposit in the United States Post Office (whether or not actually received by the addressee), by registered or certified mail with postage and fees prepaid, addressed at the following addresses, or at such other address(es) as a party may designate by ten (10) days’ advance written notice to each of the other parties hereto:

13.Headings.  The headings of the Sections in this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and will not be deemed to constitute a part of this Agreement or to affect the meaning of this Agreement.

14.Amendment.  This Agreement may be amended only by a writing executed by the Company and you which specifically states that it is amending this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be amended solely by the Company by a writing which specifically states that it is amending this Agreement, so long as a copy of such amendment is delivered to you, and provided that no such amendment adversely affecting your rights hereunder may be made without your written consent. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company reserves the right to change, by written notice to you, the provisions of this Agreement in any way it may deem necessary or advisable to carry out the purpose of the grant as a result of any change in applicable laws or regulations or any future law, regulation, ruling, or judicial decision, provided that any such change will be applicable only to rights relating to that portion of the Award which is then subject to restrictions as provided herein.

15.Miscellaneous.

(a)The rights and obligations of the Company under your Award will be transferable by the Company to any one or more persons or entities, and all covenants and agreements hereunder will inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by the Company’s successors and assigns.

(b)You agree upon request to execute any further documents or instruments necessary or desirable in the sole determination of the Company to carry out the purposes or intent of your Award.

(c)You acknowledge and agree that you have reviewed your Award in its entirety, have had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing and accepting your Award and fully understand all provisions of your Award.

(d)This Agreement will be subject to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and to such approvals by any governmental agencies or national securities exchanges as may be required.

(e)All obligations of the Company under the Plan and this Agreement will be binding on any successor to the Company, whether the existence of such successor is the result

of a direct or indirect purchase, merger, consolidation, or otherwise, of all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company.

16.Governing Plan Document.  Your Award is subject to all the provisions of the Plan, the provisions of which are hereby made a part of your Award, and is further subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations which may from time to time be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Plan.  In the event of any conflict between the provisions of your Award and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will control; provided, however, that Section 3 of this Agreement will govern the timing of any distribution of Common Stock under your Award.  In addition, your Award (and any compensation paid or shares issued under your Award) is subject to recoupment in accordance with The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and any implementing regulations thereunder, any clawback policy adopted by the Company and any compensation recovery policy otherwise required by applicable law. No recovery of compensation under such a clawback policy will be an event giving rise to a right to voluntarily terminate employment upon a resignation for “good reason,” or for a “constructive termination” or any similar term under any plan of or agreement with the Company.  The Company will have the power to interpret the Plan and this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation, and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith and to interpret or revoke any such rules. All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Board will be final and binding upon you, the Company, and all other interested persons. No member of the Board will be personally liable for any action, determination, or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

17.Effect on Other Employee Benefit Plans.  The value of the Award subject to this Agreement will not be included as compensation, earnings, salaries, or other similar terms used when calculating benefits under any employee benefit plan (other than the Plan) sponsored by the Company or any Affiliate except as such plan otherwise expressly provides. The Company expressly reserves its rights to amend, modify, or terminate any or all of the employee benefit plans of the Company or any Affiliate.

18.Severability.  If all or any part of this Agreement or the Plan is declared by any court or governmental authority to be unlawful or invalid, such unlawfulness or invalidity will not invalidate any portion of this Agreement or the Plan not declared to be unlawful or invalid. Any Section of this Agreement (or part of such a Section) so declared to be unlawful or invalid will, if possible, be construed in a manner which will give effect to the terms of such Section or part of a Section to the fullest extent possible while remaining lawful and valid.

19.Compliance with Section 409A of the Code. This Award is intended to comply with the “short-term deferral” rule set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4). However, if this Award fails to satisfy the requirements of the short-term deferral rule and is otherwise not exempt from, and therefore deemed to be deferred compensation subject to, Section 409A of the Code, and if you are a “Specified Employee” (within the meaning set forth Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code) as of the date of your separation from service (within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h)), then the issuance of any shares that would otherwise be made upon the date of the separation from service or within the first six

months thereafter will not be made on the originally scheduled dates and will instead be issued in a lump sum on the date that is six months and one day after the date of the separation from service, with the balance of the shares issued thereafter in accordance with the original vesting and issuance schedule set forth above, but if and only if such delay in the issuance of the shares is necessary to avoid the imposition of taxation on you in respect of the shares under Section 409A of the Code. Each installment of shares that vests is a “separate payment” for purposes of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-2(b)(2).

20.No Obligation to Minimize Taxes. The Company has no duty or obligation to minimize the tax consequences to you of this Award and will not be liable to you for any adverse tax consequences to you arising in connection with this Award. You are hereby advised to consult with your own personal tax, financial and/or legal advisors regarding the tax consequences of this Award and by signing the Grant Notice, you have agreed that you have done so or knowingly and voluntarily declined to do so.

* * * * *

This Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement will be deemed to be signed by the Company and the Participant upon the signing by the Participant of the Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice to which it is attached.