Forms of Stock Option Grant Notice and Option Agreement for the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan

EX-10.5 11 d636382dex105.htm EX-10.5 EX-10.5

Exhibit 10.5

AVEDRO, INC.

2012 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

OPTION GRANT NOTICE

Avedro, Inc. (the “Company”), pursuant to its 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), hereby grants to Optionholder an option to purchase the number of shares of Common Stock set forth below (the “Option”). The Option is subject to all of the terms and conditions set forth in this Option Grant Notice (“Notice”), in the Option Agreement, the Plan and the Notice of Exercise, all of which are attached to this Notice and incorporated into this Notice in their entirety. Capitalized terms not explicitly defined in this Notice but defined in the Plan or the Option Agreement will have the same definitions as in the Plan or the Option Agreement. If there is any conflict between the terms in this Notice and the Plan, the terms of the Plan will control.

 

   Optionholder:                        
   Date of Grant:                        
   Vesting Commencement Date:                        
   Number of Shares Subject to Option:                        
   Exercise Price (Per Share):                        
   Total Exercise Price:                        
   Expiration Date:                        

 

Type of Grant:   ☐ Incentive Stock Option1   ☐ Nonstatutory Stock Option
Exercise Schedule:   ☐ Same as Vesting Schedule   ☐ Early Exercise Permitted
Vesting Schedule:   [TBA]  
  [In the event that the Company consummates a Change in Control and Optionholder’s Continuous Service is terminated by the Company (or its successor or parent) without Cause (and not due to Disability or death) within [three (3) months prior to or] twelve (12) months immediately following the consummation of the Change in Control, then the vesting and exercisability of the shares subject to the Option that have not vested as of immediately prior to such termination date will be accelerated in full, provided that Optionholder timely executes, delivers to the Company and does not revoke a separation agreement that includes a release of claims in a form provided by the Company within the periods set forth in the separation agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Notice, the Option Agreement or the Plan prohibits the Company or a successor organization (or its parent) from causing the Option to earlier terminate pursuant to the terms of the Plan and the Option Agreement in connection with a Change in Control, merger, acquisition or other similar corporate transaction where such equity awards will terminate and not be assumed by the successor or acquiring entity.]
Payment:   By one or a combination of the following items (described in the Option Agreement):
  ☒    By cash, check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company
  ☒    Pursuant to a Regulation T Program if the shares are publicly traded
  ☒    By delivery of already-owned shares if the shares are publicly traded
  ☐    If and only to the extent this option is a Nonstatutory Stock Option, by a “net exercise” arrangement

Additional Terms/Acknowledgements: Optionholder acknowledges receipt of, and understands and agrees to, this Notice, the Option Agreement and the Plan. Optionholder acknowledges and agrees that this Notice and the Option Agreement may not be modified, amended or revised except as provided in the Plan. Optionholder further

 

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If this is an Incentive Stock Option, it (plus other outstanding Incentive Stock Options) cannot be first exercisable for more than $100,000 in value (measured by exercise price) in any calendar year. Any excess over $100,000 is a Nonstatutory Stock Option.

 

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acknowledges that as of the Date of Grant, this Notice, the Option Agreement, and the Plan set forth the entire understanding between Optionholder and the Company regarding the Option and supersede all prior oral and written agreements, promises and representations on that subject with the exception of (i) options previously granted and delivered to Optionholder, and (ii) the following agreements only.

 

OTHER AGREEMENTS:

 
 

 

 

 

AVEDRO, INC.:     OPTIONHOLDER:
By:  

                                                                                           

   

 

  Signature       Signature
Title:  

                                                                                       

    Date:  

 

Date:  

                                                                                       

     

ATTACHMENTS: Option Agreement, 2012 Equity Incentive Plan and Notice of Exercise

 

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AVEDRO, INC.

2012 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

OPTION AGREEMENT

(INCENTIVE STOCK OPTION OR NONSTATUTORY STOCK OPTION)

Pursuant to your Stock Option Grant Notice (the “Grant Notice”) and this Option Agreement, Avedro, Inc. (the “Company”) has granted you an option under its 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to purchase the number of shares of Common Stock indicated in your Grant Notice at the exercise price indicated in your Grant Notice. The option is granted to you effective as of the date of grant set forth in the Grant Notice (the “Date of Grant”). If there is any conflict between the terms in this Option Agreement and the Plan, the terms of the Plan will control. Capitalized terms not explicitly defined in this Option Agreement or in the Grant Notice but defined in the Plan will have the same definitions as in the Plan.

The details of your option, in addition to those set forth in the Grant Notice and the Plan, are as follows:

1.    VESTING. Your option will vest as provided in your Grant Notice. Vesting will cease upon the termination of your Continuous Service.

2.    NUMBER OF SHARES AND EXERCISE PRICE. The number of shares of Common Stock subject to your option and your exercise price per share in your Grant Notice will be adjusted for Capitalization Adjustments.

3.    EXERCISE RESTRICTION FOR NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES. If you are an Employee eligible for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (that is, a “Non-Exempt Employee”), and except as otherwise provided in the Plan, you may not exercise your option until you have completed at least six months of Continuous Service measured from the Date of Grant, even if you have already been an employee for more than six months. Consistent with the provisions of the Worker Economic Opportunity Act, you may exercise your option as to any vested portion prior to the six-month anniversary in the case of (i) your death or Disability; (ii) a Corporate Transaction in which your option is not assumed, continued, or substituted; (iii) a Change in Control; or (iv) the termination of your Continuous Service on your “retirement” (as defined in the Company’s benefit plans).

4.    EXERCISE PRIOR TO VESTING (“EARLY EXERCISE”). If permitted in your Grant Notice (i.e., the “Exercise Schedule” indicates “Early Exercise Permitted”) and subject to the terms of your option, you may elect at any time that is both (i) during the period of your Continuous Service, and (ii) during the term of your option, to exercise all or part of your option, including the unvested portion of your option; provided, however, that:

(a)    a partial exercise of your option will be deemed to cover first vested shares of Common Stock and then the earliest vesting installment of unvested shares of Common Stock;

 

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(b)    any shares of Common Stock so purchased from installments that have not vested as of the date of exercise will be subject to the purchase option in favor of the Company as described in the Company’s form of Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement;

(c)    you will enter into the Company’s form of Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement with a vesting schedule that will result in the same vesting as if no early exercise had occurred; and

(d)    if your option is an Incentive Stock Option, then, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the Date of Grant) of the shares of Common Stock with respect to which your option plus all other Incentive Stock Options you hold are exercisable for the first time by you during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its Affiliates) exceeds $100,000, your options or portions thereof that exceed the limit (according to the order in which they were granted) will be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options.

5.    METHOD OF PAYMENT. You must pay the full amount of the exercise price for the shares you wish to exercise. You may pay the exercise price in cash or by check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company or in any other manner permitted by your Grant Notice, which may include one or more of the following:

(a)    Provided that at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded, pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board that, prior to the issuance of Common Stock, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the aggregate exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds. This manner of payment is also known as a “broker-assisted exercise,” “same day sale,” or “sell to cover.”

(b)    Provided that at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded, by delivery to the Company (either by actual delivery or attestation) of already-owned shares of Common Stock that are owned free and clear of any liens, claims, encumbrances or security interests, and that are valued at Fair Market Value on the date of exercise. “Delivery” for these purposes, in the sole discretion of the Company at the time you exercise your option, will include delivery to the Company of your attestation of ownership of the shares of Common Stock in a form the Company approves. You may not exercise your option by delivery to the Company of Common Stock if doing so would violate the provisions of any law, regulation or agreement restricting the redemption of the Company’s stock.

(c)    If this option is a Nonstatutory Stock Option, by a “net exercise” arrangement pursuant to which the Company will reduce the number of shares of Common Stock issued upon exercise of your option by the largest whole number of shares with a Fair Market Value that does not exceed the aggregate exercise price. You must pay any remaining balance of the aggregate exercise price not satisfied by the “net exercise” in cash or other permitted form of payment. Shares of Common Stock will no longer be outstanding under your option and will not be exercisable thereafter if those shares (i) are used to pay the exercise price pursuant to the “net exercise,” (ii) are delivered to you as a result of such exercise, or (iii) are withheld to satisfy your tax withholding obligations.

 

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6.    WHOLE SHARES. You may exercise your option only for whole shares of Common Stock.

7.    SECURITIES LAW COMPLIANCE. In no event may you exercise your option unless the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise are then registered under the Securities Act or, if not registered, the Company has determined that your exercise and the issuance of the shares would be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The exercise of your option also must comply with all other applicable laws and regulations governing your option, and you may not exercise your option if the Company determines that the exercise would not be in material compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including any restrictions on exercise required for compliance with Treasury Regulations Section 1.401(k)-1(d)(3), if applicable).

8.    TERM. You may not exercise your option before the Date of Grant or after the expiration of its term. The term of your option expires, subject to the terms of Section 5(h) of the Plan, upon the earliest of the following:

(a)    immediately upon the termination of your Continuous Service for Cause;

(b)    three months after the termination of your Continuous Service for any reason other than Cause, your Disability or your death (except as otherwise provided in Section 8(d)); provided, however, that if (i) you are a Non-Exempt Employee, (ii) your Continuous Service terminates within six months after the Date of Grant, and (iii) you have vested in a portion of your option at the time of the termination of your Continuous Service, your option will not expire until the earlier of (A) the later of (1) the date that is seven months after the Date of Grant, and (2) the date that is three months after the termination of your Continuous Service, and (B) the Expiration Date set forth in your Grant Notice;

(c)    twelve months after the termination of your Continuous Service due to your Disability (except as otherwise provided in Section 8(d));

(d)    eighteen months after your death if you die either (i) during your Continuous Service, (ii) within three months after the termination of your Continuous Service for any reason other than Cause or your Disability, or (iii) within twelve months after the termination of your Continuous Service for your Disability;

(e)    the Expiration Date indicated in your Grant Notice; or

(f)    the day before the tenth anniversary of the Date of Grant.

If your option is an Incentive Stock Option, note that to obtain the federal income tax advantages associated with an Incentive Stock Option, the Code requires that at all times beginning on the Date of Grant and ending on the day three months before the date you exercise your option, you must be an employee of the Company or an Affiliate, except in the event of your death or your permanent and total Disability. The Company has provided for extended exercisability of your option under some circumstances for your benefit but cannot guarantee that your option will necessarily be treated as an Incentive Stock Option if you continue to provide services to the Company or an Affiliate as a Consultant or Director after your employment terminates or if you otherwise exercise your option more than three months after the date your employment with the Company or an Affiliate terminates.

 

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9.    EXERCISE.

(a)    You may exercise the vested portion of your option (and the unvested portion of your option if your Grant Notice so permits) during its term by (i) delivering a Notice of Exercise (in a form designated by the Company) or completing the other documents and procedures designated by the Company for exercise, and (ii) paying the exercise price and any applicable withholding taxes to the Company’s Secretary, stock plan administrator, or such other person as the Company may designate, together with any additional documents as the Company may then require.

(b)    You agree that, as a condition to any exercise of your option, the Company may require you to enter into an arrangement providing for the payment by you to the Company of any tax withholding obligation of the Company arising by reason of (i) the exercise of your option, (ii) the lapse of any substantial risk of forfeiture to which the shares of Common Stock are subject at the time of exercise, or (iii) the disposition of shares of Common Stock acquired upon such exercise.

(c)    If your option is an Incentive Stock Option, by exercising your option, you agree that you will notify the Company in writing within 15 days after the date of any disposition of any of the shares of the Common Stock issued upon exercise of your option that occurs within two years after the Date of Grant or within one year after the shares of Common Stock are transferred upon exercise of your option.

(d)    By exercising your option, you agree that you will not sell, dispose of, transfer, make any short sale of, grant any option for the purchase of, or enter into any hedging or similar transaction with the same economic effect as a sale with respect to any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company held by you, for a period of 180 days following the effective date of a registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act or any longer period as the underwriters or the Company will request to facilitate compliance with FINRA Rule 2711 or NYSE Member Rule 472 or any successor or similar rules or regulation (the “Lock-Up Period”); provided, however, that nothing contained in this Section 9(d) will prevent the exercise of any repurchase option in favor of the Company during the Lock-Up Period. You further agree to execute and deliver the other agreements as may be reasonably requested by the Company or the underwriters that are consistent with the foregoing covenant or that are necessary to give further effect to the foregoing covenant. To enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to your shares of Common Stock until the end of the Lock-Up Period. You also agree that any transferee of any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company held by you will be bound by this Section 9(d). The underwriters of the Company’s stock are intended third party beneficiaries of this Section 9(d) and will have the right, power and authority to enforce the terms of this Section 9(d) as though they were a party to this Option Agreement.

(e)    As a condition to your exercise of your option and to the Company’s issuance and delivery of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such exercise, the Company

 

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may require that you execute certain customary agreements entered into with the holders of capital stock of the Company, such as a right of first refusal and co-sale agreement, stockholders’ agreement and a voting agreement.

10.    TRANSFERABILITY. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 10, your option is not transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and is exercisable during your life only by you.

(a)    Certain Trusts. Upon receiving written permission from the Board or its duly authorized designee, you may transfer your option to a trust if you are considered to be the sole beneficial owner (determined under Section 671 of the Code and applicable state law) while the option is held in the trust. You and the trustee must enter into transfer and other agreements required by the Company.

(b)    Domestic Relations Orders. Upon receiving written permission from the Board or its duly authorized designee, and provided that you and the designated transferee enter into transfer and other agreements required by the Company, you may transfer your option pursuant to the terms of a domestic relations order, official marital settlement agreement or other divorce or separation instrument as permitted by Treasury Regulations Section 1.421-1(b)(2) that contains the information required by the Company to effectuate the transfer. You are encouraged to discuss the proposed terms of any division of this option with the Company prior to finalizing the domestic relations order or marital settlement agreement to help ensure the required information is contained within the domestic relations order or marital settlement agreement. If this option is an Incentive Stock Option, this option may be deemed to be a Nonstatutory Stock Option as a result of the transfer.

(c)    Beneficiary Designation. Upon receiving written permission from the Board or its duly authorized designee, you may, by delivering written notice to the Company in a form approved by the Company and any broker designated by the Company to handle option exercises, designate a third party who, after your death, will be entitled to exercise the option and receive the Common Stock or other consideration resulting from the exercise. In the absence of such a designation, your executor or administrator of your estate will be entitled to exercise the option and receive, on behalf of your estate, the Common Stock or other consideration resulting from such exercise.

11.    RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. Shares of Common Stock that you acquire upon exercise of your option are subject to any right of first refusal that may be described in the Company’s bylaws in effect at the time the Company elects to exercise its right; provided, however, that if there is no right of first refusal described in the Company’s bylaws at that time, the right of first refusal described below will apply; provided further, that if your Option is an Incentive Stock Option and the right of first refusal that applies under this Section 11 at the time the Company elects to exercise its right is more beneficial to you than the right of first refusal that applies under this Section 11 on the Date of Grant, then the right of first refusal that applies under this Section 11 on the Date of Grant will apply. The Company’s right of first refusal will expire on the first date upon which any security of the Company is listed (or approved for listing) upon notice of issuance on a national securities exchange or quotation system (the “Listing Date”).

 

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(a)    Prior to the Listing Date, you may not validly Transfer (as defined below) any shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of your option, or any interest in those shares, unless the Transfer is made in compliance with the following terms:

(i)    Before there can be a valid Transfer of any shares of Common Stock or any interest in the shares, the record holder of the shares of Common Stock to be transferred (the “Offered Shares”) will give written notice (by registered or certified mail) to the Company. The notice will specify the identity of the proposed transferee, the cash price offered for the Offered Shares by the proposed transferee (or, if the proposed Transfer is one in which the holder will not receive cash, such as an involuntary transfer, gift, donation or pledge, the holder will state that no purchase price is being proposed), and the other terms and conditions of the proposed Transfer. The date the notice is mailed is referred to in this Section as the “Notice Date” and the record holder of the Offered Shares is referred to in this Section as the “Offeror.” If, from time to time, there is any stock dividend, stock split or other change in the character or amount of any of the outstanding Common Stock that is subject to the terms of your option, then in that event any and all new, substituted or additional securities to which you are entitled by reason of your ownership of the shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of your option will be immediately subject to the Right of First Refusal (as defined below) with the same force and effect as the shares subject to the Right of First Refusal immediately before the event.

(ii)    For a period of 30 calendar days after the Notice Date, or a longer period as may be required to avoid the classification of your option as a liability for financial accounting purposes, the Company will have the option to purchase all (but not less than all) of the Offered Shares at the purchase price and on the terms set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) (the Company’s “Right of First Refusal”). If the proposed Transfer is one involving no payment of a purchase price, the purchase price will be the Fair Market Value of the Offered Shares as determined in good faith by the Board in its discretion. The Company may exercise its Right of First Refusal by mailing (by registered or certified mail) written notice of exercise of its Right of First Refusal to the Offeror prior to the end of said 30 days (including any extension required to avoid classification of the option as a liability for financial accounting purposes).

(iii)    The price at which the Company may purchase the Offered Shares pursuant to the exercise of its Right of First Refusal will be the cash price offered for the Offered Shares by the proposed transferee (as set forth in the notice required under Section 11(a)(i)), or the Fair Market Value as determined by the Board in the event no purchase price is involved. To the extent consideration other than cash is offered by the proposed transferee, the Company will not be required to pay any additional amounts to the Offeror other than the cash price offered (or the Fair Market Value, if applicable). The Company’s notice of exercise of its Right of First Refusal will be accompanied by full payment for the Offered Shares and, upon such payment by the Company, the Company will acquire full right, title and interest to all of the Offered Shares.

(iv)    If, and only if, the Company does not exercise its Right of First Refusal, the Transfer proposed in the notice given pursuant to Section 11(a)(i) may take place; provided, however, that the Transfer must, in all respects, be exactly as proposed in the Notice except that the Transfer may not take place either before the tenth calendar day after the expiration of the 30-day option exercise period or after the 90th calendar day after the expiration of the 30-day option exercise period, and if the Transfer has not taken place prior to the 90th day,

 

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the Transfer may not take place without once again complying with this Section 11(a). The option exercise periods in this Section 11(a)(iv) will be adjusted to include any extension required to avoid the classification of your option as a liability for financial accounting purposes.

(b)    As used in this Section 11, the term “Transfer” means any sale, encumbrance, pledge, gift or other form of disposition or transfer of shares of Common Stock or any legal or equitable interest in the shares; provided, however, that the term Transfer does not include a transfer of such shares or interests by will or intestacy to your Immediate Family (as defined below). In that case, the transferee or other recipient will receive and hold the shares of Common Stock so transferred subject to the terms of this Section 11, and there will be no further transfer of the shares except in accordance with the terms of this Section 11. As used in this Section 11, the term “Immediate Family” will mean your spouse, the lineal descendant or antecedent, father, mother, brother or sister, child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of you or your spouse, or the spouse of any child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of you or your spouse.

(c)    None of the shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of your option will be transferred on the Company’s books nor will the Company recognize any Transfer of any shares of Common Stock or any interest in those shares unless and until all applicable terms of this Section 11 have been complied with in all respects. The certificates of stock evidencing shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of your option will bear an appropriate legend referring to the transfer restrictions imposed by this Section 11.

(d)    To ensure that the shares subject to the Right of First Refusal will be available for repurchase by the Company, the Company may require you to deposit the certificates evidencing the shares that you purchase upon exercise of your option with an escrow agent designated by the Company under the terms and conditions of an escrow agreement the Company approves. If the Company does not require such deposit as a condition of exercise of your option, the Company reserves the right at any time to require you to so deposit the certificates in escrow. As soon as practicable after the expiration of the Right of First Refusal, the agent will deliver to you the shares and any other property no longer subject to the restriction. If the shares and any other property held in escrow are subject to the Company’s exercise of its Right of First Refusal, the notices required to be given to you will be given to the escrow agent, and any payment required to be given to you will be given to the escrow agent. Within 30 days after payment by the Company for the Offered Shares, the escrow agent will deliver the Offered Shares that the Company has repurchased to the Company and will deliver the payment received from the Company to you.

12.    OPTION NOT A SERVICE CONTRACT. Your option is not an employment or service contract, and nothing in your option will be deemed to create in any way whatsoever any obligation on your part to continue in the employ of the Company or an Affiliate, or of the Company or an Affiliate to continue your employment. In addition, nothing in your option will obligate the Company or an Affiliate, their respective stockholders, boards of directors, officers or employees to continue any relationship that you might have as a Director or Consultant for the Company or an Affiliate.

 

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13.    WITHHOLDING OBLIGATIONS.

(a)    At the time you exercise your option, in whole or in part, and at any time thereafter as requested by the Company, you hereby authorize withholding from payroll and any other amounts payable to you, and otherwise agree to make adequate provision for (including by means of a “same day sale” pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board to the extent permitted by the Company), any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or an Affiliate, if any, which arise in connection with the exercise of your option.

(b)    If this option is a Nonstatutory Stock Option, then upon your request and subject to approval by the Company, and compliance with any applicable legal conditions or restrictions, the Company may withhold from fully vested shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to you upon the exercise of your option a number of whole shares of Common Stock having a Fair Market Value, determined by the Company as of the date of exercise, not in excess of the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law (or such lower amount as may be necessary to avoid classification of your option as a liability for financial accounting purposes). If the date of determination of any tax withholding obligation is deferred to a date later than the date of exercise of your option, share withholding pursuant to the preceding sentence will not be permitted unless you make a proper and timely election under Section 83(b) of the Code, covering the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock acquired upon such exercise with respect to which such determination is otherwise deferred, to accelerate the determination of the tax withholding obligation to the date of exercise of your option. Notwithstanding the filing of the election, shares of Common Stock will be withheld solely from fully vested shares of Common Stock determined as of the date of exercise of your option that are otherwise issuable to you upon such exercise. Any adverse consequences to you arising in connection with such share withholding procedure will be your sole responsibility.

(c)    You may not exercise your option unless the tax withholding obligations of the Company and any Affiliate are satisfied. Accordingly, you may not be able to exercise your option when desired even though your option is vested, and the Company will have no obligation to issue a certificate for such shares of Common Stock or release such shares of Common Stock from any escrow provided for herein, if applicable, unless such obligations are satisfied.

14.    TAX CONSEQUENCES. You hereby agree that the Company does not have a duty to design or administer the Plan or its other compensation programs in a manner that minimizes your tax liabilities. You will not make any claim against the Company, or any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates related to tax liabilities arising from your option or your other compensation. In particular, you acknowledge that this option is exempt from Section 409A of the Code only if the exercise price per share specified in the Grant Notice is at least equal to the “fair market value” per share of the Common Stock on the Date of Grant and there is no other impermissible deferral of compensation associated with the option. Because the Common Stock is not traded on an established securities market, the Fair Market Value is determined by the Board, perhaps in consultation with an independent valuation firm retained by the Company. You acknowledge that there is no guarantee that the Internal Revenue Service will agree with the valuation as determined by the Board, and you will not make any claim against the Company, or

 

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any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates in the event that the Internal Revenue Service asserts that the valuation determined by the Board is less than the “fair market value” as subsequently determined by the Internal Revenue Service.

15.    NOTICES. Any notices provided for in your option or the Plan will be given in writing (including electronically) and will be deemed effectively given upon receipt or, in the case of notices delivered by mail by the Company to you, five days after deposit in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid, addressed to you at the last address you provided to the Company. The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to participation in the Plan and this option by electronic means or to request your consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. By accepting this option, you consent to receive such documents by electronic delivery and to participate in the Plan through an online or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company.

16.    GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT. Your option is subject to all the terms of the Plan, which are hereby made a part of your option, 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. If there is any conflict between the provisions of your option and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will control.

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