Form of RSU Grant Package under 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan

Contract Categories: Human Resources - Bonus & Incentive Agreements
EX-10.3 3 ino-63023x10qex103.htm EX-10.3 Document
Exhibit 10.3
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
RSU Award Grant Notice
(2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan)
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) has awarded to you (the “Participant”) the number of restricted stock units specified and on the terms set forth below (the “RSU Award”). Your RSU Award is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth herein and in the Company’s 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the Award Agreement (the “Agreement”), which are incorporated herein in their entirety. Capitalized terms not explicitly defined herein but defined in the Plan or the Agreement shall have the meanings set forth in the Plan or the 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 for each restricted stock unit which vests at the time set forth in Section 5 of the Agreement.
Participant Acknowledgements: By your signature below or by electronic acceptance or authentication in a form authorized by the Company, you understand and agree that:
•The RSU Award is governed by this RSU Award Grant Notice (the “Grant Notice”), and the provisions of the Plan and the Agreement, all of which are made a part of this document. Unless otherwise provided in the Plan, this Grant Notice and the Agreement (together, the “RSU Award Agreement”) may not be modified, amended or revised except in a writing signed by you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.
•You consent to receive this RSU Award Agreement, the Plan, the document containing the Plan information specified in Section 10(a) of the Securities Act (the “Prospectus”) and any other Plan-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.
•You have read and are familiar with the provisions of the Plan, the RSU Award Agreement and the Prospectus. In the event of any conflict between the provisions in the RSU Award Agreement, or the Prospectus and the terms of the Plan, the terms of the Plan shall control.
•To the fullest extent permitted under the Plan and applicable law, withholding taxes applicable to the RSU Award will be satisfied through the sale of a number of the shares issuable in settlement of the RSU Award as determined in accordance with Section 4 of the Agreement and the remittance of the cash proceeds to the Company. Under the Agreement, the Company or, if different, your employer shall 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 mandatory sale of shares to cover withholding taxes is imposed by the Company on you in connection with your receipt of this RSU Award.
•The RSU Award Agreement sets forth the entire understanding between you 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, (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, and (iii) any clawback policy that the Company is required to adopt pursuant to the listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which the Company’s securities are listed or as is otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other


Exhibit 10.3
Applicable Law and any clawback policy that the Company otherwise adopts, to the extent applicable and permissible under Applicable Law.
•If you have not actively accepted the RSU Award within 90 days after the Date of Grant set forth in this Grant Notice, you will be deemed to have accepted the RSU Award, subject to all of the terms and conditions of the RSU Award Agreement.
•Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or other applicable law) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered will be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.     Participant:
By:             
    Signature    Signature
Name:         Date:     
Title:    
Date:    



Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan
RSU Award Agreement
As reflected by your Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”) Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) has granted you a RSU Award under its 2023 Omnibus 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 for your RSU Award (the “Agreement”) and the Grant Notice constitute your “RSU Award Agreement”. Defined terms not explicitly defined in this 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 9 of the Plan regarding the impact of a Capitalization Adjustment, dissolution, liquidation, or Corporate Transaction on your RSU Award;
(b)Section 9(d) 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(h) 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 RSU Award 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 Adjustments) 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, 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.Dividends. You shall receive no benefit or adjustment to your RSU Award with respect to any cash dividend, stock dividend or other distribution that does not result from a Capitalization Adjustment as provided in the Plan; provided, however, that this sentence shall 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 Obligations.
(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 equivalents; 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 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 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 your 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 (a “FINRA Dealer”) 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, 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 of the Restricted Stock Units sufficient to generate proceeds to cover (A) the Withholding Taxes that you are required to pay pursuant to the Plan and this Agreement as a result of the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units (or shares being issued thereunder, as applicable) and (B) 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, the Company or an Affiliate may, in its sole discretion, satisfy all or any portion of the Withholding Taxes relating to your 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 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 maximum statutory withholding rates for federal, state, local and foreign tax purposes, including payroll taxes, that are applicable to supplemental taxable income; 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 Company’s Board or Compensation Committee.
(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 withholding obligation 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 that the Mandatory Sell to Cover is imposed by the Company on you 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)Subject to the satisfaction of the withholding obligations set forth in Section 4 of this Agreement, the Company will deliver to you a number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock equal to the number of vested Restricted Stock Units subject to your RSU Award, including any additional Restricted Stock Units received pursuant to a Capitalization Adjustment that relate to those vested Restricted Stock Units on the applicable vesting date; provided, however, if such vesting date falls on a date that is not a business day, such delivery date shall instead fall on the next following business day (the “Original Distribution Date”).
(b)Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (i) selling shares of the Company’s Common Stock in the public market on the Original Distribution Date to satisfy your tax withholding obligation in accordance with Section 4 of this 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 Distribution 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 Company’s 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 Distribution Date occurs (that is, the last day of the taxable year in which the Original Distribution 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 are no longer subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(d). Delivery of the shares is intended to comply with the requirements for the short-term deferral exemption available under Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) and shall be construed and administered in such manner.
(c)To the extent the RSU Award is a Non-Exempt RSU Award, the provisions of Section 7(k) of the Plan shall apply.
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 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.
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.