Forms of Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Award Agreement under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan

EX-10.1 2 d317387dex101.htm EX-10.1 EX-10.1

Exhibit 10.1

Form of RSU Agreement (Sell to Cover)

IONQ, INC.

RSU AWARD GRANT NOTICE

(2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN)

IonQ, Inc. (the “Company”) has awarded to you (the “Participant”) the number of restricted stock units specified and on the terms set forth below in consideration of your services (the “RSU Award”). Your RSU Award is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth herein and in the IonQ, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the Award Agreement, including any appendices attached thereto (the “Award Agreement”), which are attached hereto and incorporated herein in their entirety. Capitalized terms not explicitly defined herein but defined in the Plan or the Award Agreement shall have the meanings set forth in the Plan or the Award Agreement.

 

Participant:   
Date of Grant:   
Vesting Commencement Date:   
Number of Restricted Stock Units:   
Vesting Schedule:    [                    ] Notwithstanding the foregoing, vesting shall terminate upon the Participant’s termination of Continuous Service.
Issuance Schedule:    One share of Common Stock will be issued at the time set forth in Section 5 of the Award Agreement for each restricted stock unit which vests.
Participant Acknowledgements:    By the Participant’s signature below or by electronic acceptance or authentication in a form authorized by the Company, the Participant understands and agrees that:
  

•   The RSU Award is governed by this Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice, and the provisions of the Plan and the Award Agreement, all of which are made a part of this document. Unless otherwise provided in the Plan, this Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and the Award Agreement (together, the “Agreement”) may not be modified, amended or revised except in a writing signed by the Participant and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

  

•   To the fullest extent permitted under the Plan and applicable law, any Withholding Taxes (as defined in the Award Agreement) applicable to the RSU Award will be satisfied through the sale of a number of the shares of Common Stock issuable in settlement of the RSU Award as determined in accordance with Section 4 of the Award Agreement and the remittance of the cash proceeds to the Company. Under the Agreement, the Company or, if different, the Participant’s employer is authorized and directed by the Participant to make payment from the cash proceeds of this sale directly to the appropriate tax or social security authorities in an amount equal to the taxes required to be remitted. The Participant acknowledges and agrees that, as a result of the Participant’s authorization, the Company will have the authority to administer the Mandatory Sell to Cover (as defined in the Award Agreement) in connection with the Participant’s receipt of this RSU Award.

  

•   You acknowledge that you are familiar with and agree to continued compliance with the mutual promises and covenants contained in the Employee Confidential Information, Inventions, Non-Solicitation and Non-Competition Agreement that you were required, as a condition of your employment by the Company, to execute.

  

•   The Agreement sets forth the entire understanding between the Participant and the Company regarding the acquisition of Common Stock and supersedes all prior oral and written agreements, promises and/or representations on that subject with the exception of (i) other equity awards previously granted to you, and (ii) any written employment agreement, offer letter, severance agreement, written severance plan or policy, or other written agreement between the Company and you in each case that specifies the terms that should govern this RSU Award.


By accepting this RSU Award, the Participant acknowledges having received and read the Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice, the Award Agreement and the Plan and agrees to all of the terms and conditions set forth in these documents. The Participant consents to receive Plan and related 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.

 

IONQ, INC.:       PARTICIPANT:
By:  

 

     

 

Signature       Signature
Title:  

 

      Date:  

 

Date:  

 

       

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Award Agreement, 2021 Equity Incentive Plan


ATTACHMENT I

IONQ, INC.

AWARD AGREEMENT

(2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN)

As reflected by your RSU Award Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”), IonQ, Inc. (the “Company”) has granted you a RSU Award under the IonQ, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) for the number of restricted stock units as indicated in your Grant Notice (the “RSU Award”). The terms of your RSU Award as specified in this Award Agreement, including any appendices attached hereto, for your RSU Award (this “Award Agreement”) and the Grant Notice constitute your “Agreement.” Defined terms not explicitly defined in this Award Agreement but defined in the Grant Notice or the Plan shall have the same definitions as in the Grant Notice or Plan, as applicable.

The general terms applicable to your RSU Award are as follows:

1. GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT. Your RSU Award is subject to all the provisions of the Plan, including but not limited to the provisions in:

(a) Section 6 of the Plan regarding the impact of a Capitalization Adjustment, dissolution, liquidation, or Corporate Transaction on your RSU Award;

(b) Section 9(e) of the Plan regarding the Company’s retained rights to terminate your Continuous Service notwithstanding the grant of the RSU Award; and

(c) Section 8 of the Plan regarding the tax consequences of your RSU Award.

Your RSU Award 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 Agreement and the provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.

2. GRANT OF THE RSU AWARD. This RSU Award represents your right to be issued on a future date the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock that is equal to the number of restricted stock units indicated in the Grant Notice as modified to reflect any Capitalization Adjustment and subject to your satisfaction of the vesting conditions set forth therein (the “Restricted Stock Units”). Any additional Restricted Stock Units that become subject to the RSU Award pursuant to Capitalization Adjustments as set forth in the Plan and the provisions of Section 3 below, if any, shall 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 covered by your RSU Award.

3. NO STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS. Unless and until such time as shares of Common Stock are issued in settlement of vested RSUs, you will have no ownership of the shares allocated to the RSUs and will have no right to vote such shares. You shall receive no benefit or adjustment to this RSU Award with respect to any cash dividend, stock dividend or other distribution that does not result from a Capitalization Adjustment; provided, however, that this sentence will not apply with respect to any shares of Common Stock that are delivered to you in connection with your RSU Award after such shares have been delivered to you.

4. WITHHOLDING OBLIGATION.

(a) You acknowledge that, regardless of any action taken by the Company, or if different, the Affiliate employing or engaging you (the “Employer”), the ultimate liability for all income tax (including U.S. federal, state, and local taxes and/or non-U.S. taxes), social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account or other tax-related items related to your participation in the Plan and legally applicable to you (the “Tax-Related Items”) is and remains your responsibility and may exceed the amount, if any, actually withheld by the Company or the Employer. You further acknowledge that the Company and/or the Employer (i) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the RSU Award,


including, but not limited to, the grant of the RSU Award, the vesting of the RSU Award, the issuance of shares in settlement of vesting of the RSU Award, the subsequent sale of any shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the RSU Award and the receipt of any dividends or dividend equivalent; and (ii) do not commit to and are under no obligation to reduce or eliminate your liability for Tax-Related Items. Further, if you become subject to taxation in more than one country, you acknowledge that the Company and/or the Employer (or former employer, as applicable) may be required to withhold or account for Tax-Related Items in more than one country.

(b) 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 law, you agree to make adequate provision for any sums required to satisfy the withholding obligations of the Company, the Employer or any Affiliate in connection with any Tax-Related Items that arise in connection with the RSU Award (the “Withholding Taxes”). The Company shall arrange a mandatory sale (on your behalf pursuant to your authorization under this section and without further consent) of the shares of Common Stock issued in settlement upon the vesting of your Restricted Stock Units in an amount necessary to satisfy the Withholding Taxes and shall satisfy the Withholding Taxes by withholding from the proceeds of such sale (the “Mandatory Sell to Cover”). You hereby acknowledge and agree that the Company shall have the authority to administer the Mandatory Sell to Cover arrangement in its sole discretion with a registered broker-dealer that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority as the Company may select as the agent (the “Agent”) who will sell on the open market at the then prevailing market price(s), as soon as practicable on or after each date on which your Restricted Stock Units vest and the shares underlying such Restricted Stock Units are distributed, the number (rounded up to the next whole number) of the shares of Common Stock to be delivered to you in connection with the vesting and settlement of the Restricted Stock Units sufficient to generate proceeds to cover (i) the Withholding Taxes that you are required to pay pursuant to the Plan and this Agreement as a result of the vesting and settlement of the Restricted Stock Units and (ii) all applicable fees and commissions due to, or required to be collected by, the Agent with respect thereto any remaining funds shall be remitted to you.

(c) If, for any reason, such Mandatory Sell to Cover does not result in sufficient proceeds to satisfy the Withholding Taxes, or if such Mandatory Sell to Cover is not permitted by applicable law, the Company or an Affiliate may, in its sole discretion, satisfy all or any portion of the Withholding Taxes relating to the RSU 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 the Employer; (ii) causing you to tender a cash payment (which may be in the form of a check, electronic wire transfer or other method permitted by the Company); or (iii) 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 shares of Common Stock shall not be withheld with a value exceeding the maximum amount of tax required to be withheld by applicable law (or such lesser amount as may be necessary to avoid classification of the RSU Award as a liability for financial accounting purposes); and to the extent necessary to qualify for an exemption from application of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, if applicable, such share withholding procedure will be subject to the express prior approval of the Board or Compensation Committee of the Board.

(d) Unless the tax withholding obligations of the Company and/or any Affiliate with respect to the Tax-Related Items are satisfied, the Company shall have no obligation to deliver to you any Common Stock.

(e) 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 Tax-Related Items was greater than the amount withheld by the Company or your Employer, you agree to indemnify and hold the Company and your Employer harmless from any failure by the Company or your Employer to withhold the proper amount.

(f) You acknowledge and agree that, as a result of your authorization under this section and without further consent, the Company will have the authority to administer the Mandatory Sell to Cover pursuant to the terms of the RSU Award.


(g) The Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering applicable minimum statutory withholding amounts, or other applicable withholding rates, including maximum applicable rates in your jurisdiction(s). If the maximum rate is used, any over-withheld amount may be refunded to you in cash by the Company or Employer (with no entitlement to the equivalent in shares of Common Stock), or if not refunded, you may seek a refund from the local tax authorities. You must pay to the Company and/or the Employer any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company and/or the Employer may be required to withhold or account for as a result of your participation in the Plan that cannot be satisfied by the means previously described.

5. 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. Subject to the satisfaction of the Tax-Related Items set forth in Section 4 of this Award Agreement, in the event one or more Restricted Stock Units vests, the Company shall issue to you one (1) share of Common Stock for each Restricted Stock Unit that vests on the applicable vesting date(s) (subject to any different provisions in the Grant Notice). Each issuance date determined by this paragraph is referred to as an “Original Issuance Date.”

(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (i) selling shares of the Common Stock in the public market on the Original Issuance Date to satisfy your tax withholding obligation in accordance with Section 4 of this Award Agreement is prohibited for any reason, and (ii) the Company elects not to instead satisfy its tax withholding obligations by withholding shares from your distribution, then such shares shall not be delivered on such Original Issuance Date and shall instead be delivered to you on the earliest of: (1) the first date that you are not prohibited from selling shares of the Common Stock in the open market, or (2) such earlier date that the Company elects to satisfy its tax withholding obligation by withholding shares from your distribution; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event will the shares be delivered to you any later than: (A) 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 (B) 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 applicable 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).

(c) In addition and notwithstanding the foregoing, no shares of Common Stock issuable to you under this Section 5 as a result of the vesting of one or more Restricted Stock Units will be delivered to you until any filings that may be required pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act in connection with the issuance of such shares have been filed and any required waiting period under the HSR Act has expired or been terminated (any such filings and/or waiting period required pursuant to HSR, the “HSR Requirements”). If the HSR Requirements apply to the issuance of any shares of Common Stock issuable to you under this Section 5 upon vesting of one or more Restricted Stock Units, such shares of Common Stock will not be issued on the Original Issuance Date and will instead be issued on the first business day on or following the date when all such HSR Requirements are satisfied and when you are permitted to sell shares of Common Stock on an established stock exchange or stock market, as determined by the Company in accordance with the Company’s then-effective policy on trading in Company securities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the issuance date for any shares of Common Stock delayed under this Section 5(c) shall in no event be 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), unless a later issuance date is permitted without incurring adverse tax consequences under Section 409A of the Code or other applicable law.

(d) The form of delivery (e.g., a stock certificate or electronic entry evidencing such shares) shall be determined by the Company.

6. TRANSFERABILITY. Except as otherwise provided in the Plan, your RSU Award is not transferable, except by will or by the applicable laws of descent and distribution.

7. CORPORATE TRANSACTION. Your RSU Award is subject to the terms of any agreement governing a Corporate Transaction involving the Company, including, without limitation, a provision for the appointment of a stockholder representative that is authorized to act on your behalf with respect to any escrow, indemnities and any contingent consideration.


8. NO LIABILITY FOR TAXES. As a condition to accepting the RSU Award, you hereby (a) agree to not make any claim against the Company, or any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates related to tax liabilities arising from the RSU Award or other Company compensation and (b) acknowledge that you were advised to consult with your own personal tax, financial and other legal advisors regarding the tax consequences of the RSU Award and have either done so or knowingly and voluntarily declined to do so.

9. SEVERABILITY. If any part of this Award 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 Award Agreement or the Plan not declared to be unlawful or invalid. Any Section of this Award 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.

10. OTHER DOCUMENTS. You hereby acknowledge receipt of or the right to receive a document providing the information required by Rule 428(b)(1) promulgated under the Securities Act, which includes the Prospectus. In addition, you acknowledge receipt of the Company’s Trading Policy.

11. QUESTIONS. If you have questions regarding these or any other terms and conditions applicable to your RSU Award, including a summary of the applicable federal income tax consequences please see the Prospectus.


Appendix – Canada

This Appendix includes special terms and conditions that govern the RSU Award granted to you under the Plan and Agreement if you reside and/or work in Canada.

The information contained herein is general in nature and may not apply to your particular situation. Accordingly, you are advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the relevant Canadian laws may apply to your situation.

Withholding Obligations. Section 4(c)(iii) of the Agreement shall have no application.

Data Privacy. You hereby authorize the Company and its representatives to discuss with and obtain all relevant information from all personnel, professional or not, involved in the administration and operation of the Plan. You further authorize the Company, its Affiliates and any stock plan service provider that may be selected by the Company to assist with the Plan to disclose and discuss the Plan with their respective advisors. You further authorize the Company and its Affiliates to record such information and to keep such information in your employee file.

Language Consent. The parties to the Agreement acknowledge that it is their express wish that the Agreement, as well as all documents, notices, and legal proceedings entered into, given or instituted pursuant hereto or relating directly or indirectly hereto, be drawn up in English.

Consentement relatif à la langue utilisée

Les parties reconnaissent avoir exigé que cette convention («Agreement») soit rédigée en anglais, ainsi que tous les documents, avis et procédures judiciaires, éxécutés, donnés ou intentés en vertu de, ou liés directement ou indirectement à la présente.

Continuous Service. Notwithstanding anything else in the Plan or the Agreement, your Continuous Service will be deemed to end on the date when you cease to be actively providing services to the Company or an Affiliate (or your employer, if different), regardless of whether the cessation of your employment was lawful, and shall not include any period of statutory, contractual, common law, civil law or other reasonable notice of termination of employment or any period of salary continuance or deemed employment; provided, however, that where any greater period is expressly required by applicable employment or labor standards legislation (if such legislation is applicable), your Continuous Service will be deemed to end immediately following the minimum prescribed period under that legislation. As a result, if you receive notice of termination, and the Company or its Affiliate (or your employer, if different) does not require you to continue to attend at work and/or elects to provide you with a payment in lieu of notice, your Continuous Service will end on the date you receive such notice, as opposed any later date when severance payments to you cease, unless otherwise expressly required by applicable employment or labour standards legislation (if such legislation is applicable).

Employment Matters.

The definition of “Cause” is modified such that the following supersedes the existing definition in the Plan:

Cause” has the meaning ascribed to such term in any written agreement between a Participant and the Company defining such term and, in the absence of such agreement, such term means, with respect to a Participant, the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) the Participant’s dishonest statements or acts with respect to the Company or any Affiliate of the Company, or any current or prospective customers, suppliers, vendors or other third parties with which such entity does business; (ii) the Participant’s commission of: (A) a felony or indictable offence, or (B) any misdemeanor or summary conviction offence involving moral turpitude, deceit, dishonesty or fraud; (iii) the Participant’s failure to perform the Participant’s assigned duties and responsibilities to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company which failure continues, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, after written notice given to the Participant by the Company; (iv) the Participant’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or insubordination with respect to the Company or any affiliate of the Company; (v) the Participant’s material violation of any provision of any agreement(s) between the Participant and the Company relating to noncompetition, nonsolicitation, nondisclosure


and/or assignment of inventions; or (vi) any other serious act or omission that amounts to just cause at law; provided, however, that for Employees in Ontario, “Cause” means wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that is not trivial and has not been condoned. The determination that a termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service is either for Cause or without Cause will be made by the Board with respect to Participants who are executive officers of the Company and by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer with respect to Participants who are not executive officers of the Company. Any determination by the Company that the Continuous Service of a Participant was terminated with or without Cause for the purposes of outstanding Awards held by such Participant will have no effect upon any determination of the rights or obligations of the Company or such Participant for any other purpose.

References to “at will” employment in the Plan are deleted.

No Fractions. No fractional shares of Common Stock shall be issued under the Agreement and no cash amount shall be payable in respect thereof.

Voluntary Participation. Participant’s participation in the Plan is voluntary.

Securities Law Information.

The following definitions in Section 14 of the Plan are modified such that the following modifications supplement the existing definitions as follows:

 

   

Affiliate” - For purposes of issuances of securities under the Plan to Employees and Consultants in Canada, an Affiliate means a person (which includes a corporation) that controls the Company or is controlled by the Company or is controlled by the same person that controls the Company. For this purpose, a person (first person) is considered to control a person (second person) if the first person, directly or indirectly, has the power to direct the management and policies of the second person by virtue of ownership of or direction over voting securities in the second person (over 50%); or a written agreement or indenture; and

 

   

Consultant” - For purposes of issuances of securities under the Plan to Consultants in Canada, a Consultant means a person, other than an employee, executive officer or director of the Company or an Affiliate that (a) is engaged to provide services to the Company, Parent, Subsidiary or an Affiliate, other than services provided in relation to a distribution; (b) provides the services under a written contract with the Company or an Affiliate; and (c) spends or will spend a significant amount of time and attention on the affairs and business of the Company or an Affiliate and includes (d) for an individual consultant, a corporation of which the individual consultant is an employee or shareholder, and a partnership of which the individual consultant is an employee or partner, and (e) for a consultant that is not an individual, an employee, executive officer, or director of the consultant, provided that the individual employee, executive officer, or director spends or will spend a significant amount of time and attention on the affairs and business of the Company or an Affiliate.

Participant understands that, subject to any applicable contractual restrictions, Participant is permitted to sell shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the Plan, provided that the Company is a “foreign issuer” that is not a public company in any jurisdiction of Canada and the sale of the shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the Plan takes place: (i) through an exchange, or a market, outside of Canada on the distribution date; or (ii) to a person or company outside of Canada. For purposes hereof, in addition to not being a reporting issuer in any jurisdiction of Canada, a “foreign issuer” is an issuer that: (i) is not incorporated or existing pursuant to the laws of Canada or any jurisdiction of Canada; (ii) does not have its head office in Canada; and (iii) does not have a majority of its executive officers or directors ordinarily resident in Canada. If any designated broker is appointed under the Plan, Participant shall sell such securities through the designated broker.

Foreign Asset/Account Reporting Information. Canadian residents are required to report any “foreign property” on form T1135 (Foreign Income Verification Statement) if the total cost of such property exceeds a certain threshold (CDN$100,000) at any time in the year. It is Participant’s responsibility to comply with these reporting obligations, and Participant should consult with Participant’s own personal tax advisor in this regard.


Right to acquire shares of Common Stock. Section 10(a) of the Plan shall only have application in the event applicable laws prohibit, in the reasonable opinion of the Company, any particular action or transaction contemplated in the Agreement or Plan. Furthermore, and notwithstanding any other provision of the Agreement or Plan, Participant’s RSU Award shall entitle Participant, upon fulfillment of the requisite conditions, to acquire newly issued shares of Common Stock, and may not be cash-settled (or otherwise settled) without Participant’s consent.


Attachment II

2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN