EXHIBIT 99.9
COLDWATER CREEK, INC.
STOCK ISSUANCE AGREEMENT
------------------------
AGREEMENT made as of this ____ day of _______________ 19__, by and
between Coldwater Creek, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and
________________________________, a Participant in the Corporation's 1996
Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan.
All capitalized terms in this Agreement shall have the meaning
assigned to them in this Agreement or in the attached Appendix.
A. PURCHASE OF SHARES
1. PURCHASE. Participant hereby purchases shares of
Common Stock (the "Purchased Shares") pursuant to the provisions of the Stock
Issuance Program at the purchase price of $______ per share (the "Purchase
Price").
2. PAYMENT. Concurrently with the delivery of this Agreement to
the Corporation, Participant shall pay the Purchase Price for the Purchased
Shares in cash or check payable to the Corporation and shall deliver a
duly-executed blank Assignment Separate from Certificate (in the form
attached hereto as Exhibit I) with respect to the Purchased Shares.
3. STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS. Until such time as the Corporation
exercises the Repurchase Right, Participant (or any successor in interest)
shall have all the rights of a stockholder (including voting, dividend and
liquidation rights) with respect to the Purchased Shares, subject, however,
to the transfer restrictions of this Agreement.
4. ESCROW. The Corporation shall have the right to hold the
Purchased Shares in escrow until those shares have vested in accordance with
the Vesting Schedule.
5. COMPLIANCE WITH LAW. Under no circumstances shall shares of
Common Stock or other assets be issued or delivered to Participant pursuant
to the provisions of this Agreement unless, in the opinion of counsel for the
Corporation or its successors, there shall have been compliance with all
applicable requirements of Federal and state securities laws, all applicable
listing requirements of any stock exchange (or the Nasdaq National Market, if
applicable) on which the Common Stock is at the time listed for trading and
all other requirements of law or of any regulatory bodies having jurisdiction
over such issuance and delivery.
B. TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS
1. RESTRICTION ON TRANSFER. Except for any Permitted Transfer,
Participant shall not transfer, assign, encumber or otherwise dispose of any
of the Purchased Shares which are subject to the Repurchase Right.
2. RESTRICTIVE LEGEND. The stock certificate for the Purchased
Shares shall be endorsed with the following restrictive legend:
"The shares represented by this certificate are unvested and
subject to certain repurchase rights granted to the Corporation and
accordingly may not be sold, assigned, transferred, encumbered, or in any
manner disposed of except in conformity with the terms of a written
agreement dated ______________, 199_ between the Corporation and the
registered holder of the shares (or the predecessor in interest to the
shares). A copy of such agreement is maintained at the Corporation's
principal corporate offices."
3. TRANSFEREE OBLIGATIONS. Each person (other than the
Corporation) to whom the Purchased Shares are transferred by means of a
Permitted Transfer must, as a condition precedent to the validity of such
transfer, acknowledge in writing to the Corporation that such person is bound
by the provisions of this Agreement and that the transferred shares are
subject to the Repurchase Right to the same extent such shares would be so
subject if retained by Participant.
C. REPURCHASE RIGHT
1. GRANT. The Corporation is hereby granted the right (the
"Repurchase Right"), exercisable at any time during the ninety (90)-day
period following the date Participant ceases for any reason to remain in
Service, to repurchase at the Purchase Price all or any portion of the
Purchased Shares in which Participant is not, at the time of his or her
cessation of Service, vested in accordance with the Vesting Schedule (such
shares to be hereinafter referred to as the "Unvested Shares").
2. EXERCISE OF THE REPURCHASE RIGHT. The Repurchase Right shall
be exercisable by written notice delivered to each Owner of the Unvested
Shares prior to the expiration of the ninety (90)-day exercise period. The
notice shall indicate the number of Unvested Shares to be repurchased and the
date on which the repurchase is to be effected, such date to be not more than
thirty (30) days after the date of such notice. The certificates
representing the Unvested Shares to be repurchased shall be delivered to the
Corporation prior to the close of business on the date specified for the
repurchase. Concurrently with the receipt of such stock certificates, the
Corporation shall pay to Owner, in cash or cash
2.
equivalent (including the cancellation of any purchase-money indebtedness),
an amount equal to the Purchase Price previously paid for the Unvested Shares
to be repurchased from Owner.
3. TERMINATION OF THE REPURCHASE RIGHT. The Repurchase Right
shall terminate with respect to any Unvested Shares for which it is not
timely exercised under Paragraph C.2. In addition, the Repurchase Right
shall terminate and cease to be exercisable with respect to any and all
Purchased Shares in which Participant vests in accordance with the following
Vesting Schedule:
(i) Upon Participant's completion of one (1) year of
Service measured from ______________, 199__, Participant shall acquire
a vested interest in, and the Repurchase Right shall lapse with
respect to, twenty-five percent (25%) of the Purchased Shares.
(ii) Participant shall acquire a vested interest in, and the
Repurchase Right shall lapse with respect to, the remaining Purchased
Shares in a series of thirty six (36) successive equal monthly
installments upon Participant's completion of each additional month of
Service over the thirty-six (36)-month period measured from the
initial vesting date under subparagraph (i) above.
4. RECAPITALIZATION. Any new, substituted or additional
securities or other property (including cash paid other than as a regular
cash dividend) which is by reason of any Recapitalization distributed with
respect to the Purchased Shares shall be immediately subject to the
Repurchase Right, but only to the extent the Purchased Shares are at the time
covered by such right. Appropriate adjustments to reflect such distribution
shall be made to the number and/or class of securities subject to this
Agreement and to the price per share to be paid upon the exercise of the
Repurchase Right in order to reflect the effect of any such Recapitalization
upon the Corporation's capital structure; PROVIDED, however, that the
aggregate purchase price shall remain the same.
5. CORPORATE TRANSACTION.
(a) Immediately prior to the consummation of any Corporate
Transaction, the Repurchase Right shall automatically lapse in its entirety
and the Purchased Shares shall vest in full, except to the extent the
Repurchase Right is to be assigned to the successor corporation (or parent
thereof) in connection with the Corporate Transaction.
(b) To the extent the Repurchase Right remains in effect
following a Corporate Transaction, such right shall apply to the new capital
stock or other property (including any cash payments) received in exchange
for the Purchased Shares in consummation of the Corporate Transaction, but
only to the extent the Purchased Shares
3.
are at the time covered by such right. Appropriate adjustments shall be made
to the price per share payable upon exercise of the Repurchase Right to
reflect the effect of the Corporate Transaction upon the Corporation's
capital structure; PROVIDED, however, that the aggregate purchase price shall
remain the same. The new securities or other property (including cash
payments) issued or distributed with respect to the Purchased Shares in
consummation of the Corporate Transaction shall immediately be deposited in
escrow with the Corporation (or the successor entity) and shall not be
released from escrow until Participant vests in such securities or other
property in accordance with the same Vesting Schedule in effect for the
Purchased Shares.
(c) The Repurchase Right may also be subject to termination in
whole or in part on an accelerated basis, and the Purchased Shares subject to
immediate vesting, in accordance with the terms of any special Addendum
attached to this Agreement.
D. SPECIAL TAX ELECTION
1. SECTION 83(b) ELECTION. Under Code Section 83, the excess of
the fair market value of the Purchased Shares on the date any forfeiture
restrictions applicable to such shares lapse over the Purchase Price paid for
such shares will be reportable as ordinary income on the lapse date. For
this purpose, the term "forfeiture restrictions" includes the right of the
Corporation to repurchase the Purchased Shares pursuant to the Repurchase
Right. Participant may elect under Code Section 83(b) to be taxed at the time
the Purchased Shares are acquired, rather than when and as such Purchased
Shares cease to be subject to such forfeiture restrictions. Such election
must be filed with the Internal Revenue Service within thirty (30) days after
the date of this Agreement. Even if the fair market value of the Purchased
Shares on the date of this Agreement equals the Purchase Price paid (and thus
no tax is payable), the election must be made to avoid adverse tax
consequences in the future. THE FORM FOR MAKING THIS ELECTION IS ATTACHED AS
EXHIBIT II HERETO. PARTICIPANT UNDERSTANDS THAT FAILURE TO MAKE THIS FILING
WITHIN THE APPLICABLE THIRTY (30)-DAY PERIOD WILL RESULT IN THE RECOGNITION
OF ORDINARY INCOME AS THE FORFEITURE RESTRICTIONS LAPSE.
2. FILING RESPONSIBILITY. PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT IS
PARTICIPANT'S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY, AND NOT THE CORPORATION'S, TO FILE A
TIMELY ELECTION UNDER CODE SECTION 83(b), EVEN IF PARTICIPANT REQUESTS THE
CORPORATION OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES TO MAKE THIS FILING ON HIS OR HER BEHALF.
4.
E. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. ASSIGNMENT. The Corporation may assign the Repurchase Right to
any person or entity selected by the Board, including (without limitation)
one or more stockholders of the Corporation.
2. NO EMPLOYMENT OR SERVICE CONTRACT. Nothing in this Agreement
or in the Plan shall confer upon Participant any right to continue in Service
for any period of specific duration or interfere with or otherwise restrict
in any way the rights of the Corporation (or any Parent or Subsidiary
employing or retaining Participant) or of Participant, which rights are
hereby expressly reserved by each, to terminate Participant's Service at any
time for any reason, with or without cause.
3. NOTICES. Any notice required to be given under this Agreement
shall be in writing and shall be deemed effective upon personal delivery or
upon deposit in the U.S. mail, registered or certified, postage prepaid and
properly addressed to the party entitled to such notice at the address
indicated below such party's signature line on this Agreement or at such
other address as such party may designate by ten (10) days advance written
notice under this paragraph to all other parties to this Agreement.
4. NO WAIVER. The failure of the Corporation in any instance to
exercise the Repurchase Right shall not constitute a waiver of any other
repurchase rights that may subsequently arise under the provisions of this
Agreement or any other agreement between the Corporation and Participant. No
waiver of any breach or condition of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a
waiver of any other or subsequent breach or condition, whether of like or
different nature.
5. CANCELLATION OF SHARES. If the Corporation shall make
available, at the time and place and in the amount and form provided in this
Agreement, the consideration for the Purchased Shares to be repurchased in
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, then from and after such
time, the person from whom such shares are to be repurchased shall no longer
have any rights as a holder of such shares (other than the right to receive
payment of such consideration in accordance with this Agreement). Such
shares shall be deemed purchased in accordance with the applicable provisions
hereof, and the Corporation shall be deemed the owner and holder of such
shares, whether or not the certificates therefor have been delivered as
required by this Agreement.
6. PARTICIPANT UNDERTAKING. Participant hereby agrees to take
whatever additional action and execute whatever additional documents the
Corporation may deem necessary or advisable in order to carry out or effect
one or more of the obligations or restrictions imposed on either Participant
or the Purchased Shares pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.
5.
7. AGREEMENT IS ENTIRE CONTRACT. This Agreement constitutes the
entire contract between the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter
hereof. This Agreement is made pursuant to the provisions of the Plan and
shall in all respects be construed in conformity with the terms of the Plan.
8. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by, and
construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Idaho without resort
to that State's conflict-of-laws rules.
9. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts,
each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together
shall constitute one and the same instrument.
10. SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. The provisions of this Agreement shall
inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the Corporation and its
successors and assigns and upon Participant, Participant's assigns and the
legal representatives, heirs and legatees of Participant's estate, whether or
not any such person shall have become a party to this Agreement and have
agreed in writing to join herein and be bound by the terms hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the
day and year first indicated above.
COLDWATER CREEK, INC.
By: _______________________
Title: ____________________
Address: __________________
___________________________
___________________________
PARTICIPANT
Address:___________________
___________________________
6.
EXHIBIT I
ASSIGNMENT SEPARATE FROM CERTIFICATE
FOR VALUE RECEIVED __________________________ hereby sell(s),
assign(s) and transfer(s) unto Coldwater Creek, Inc. (the "Corporation"),
______________ (______) shares of the Common Stock of the Corporation
standing in his or her name on the books of the Corporation represented by
Certificate No. ___________________ herewith and do(es) hereby irrevocably
constitute and appoint ____________________ Attorney to transfer the said
stock on the books of the Corporation with full power of substitution in the
premises. Dated:________________, 199_.
Signature _____________________________
INSTRUCTION: Please do not fill in any blanks other than the signature line.
Please sign exactly as you would like your name to appear on the issued stock
certificate. The purpose of this assignment is to enable the Corporation to
exercise the Repurchase Right without requiring additional signatures on the
part of Participant.
EXHIBIT II
SECTION 83(B) TAX ELECTION
This statement is being made under Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue
Code, pursuant to Treas. Reg. Section 1.83-2.
(1) The taxpayer who performed the services is:
Name:
Address:
Taxpayer Ident. No.:
(2) The property with respect to which the election is being made is ________
shares of the common stock of Coldwater Creek, Inc.
(3) The property was issued on ______________ , 199_.
(4) The taxable year in which the election is being made is the calendar year
199_.
(5) The property is subject to a repurchase right pursuant to which the
issuer has the right to acquire the property at the original purchase
price if for any reason taxpayer's employment with the issuer is
terminated. The issuer's repurchase right lapses in a series of
annual and monthly installments over a four (4)-year period ending
on _____________________________________________________.
(6) The fair market value at the time of transfer (determined without regard
to any restriction other than a restriction which by its terms will never
lapse) is $ _______ per share.
(7) The amount paid for such property is $ _______ per share.
(8) A copy of this statement was furnished to Coldwater Creek, Inc. for whom
taxpayer rendered the services underlying the transfer of property.
(9) This statement is executed on ________________________, 199__.
__________________________________ ______________________________________
Spouse (if any) Taxpayer
THIS ELECTION MUST BE FILED WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE CENTER WITH
WHICH TAXPAYER FILES HIS OR HER FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURNS AND MUST BE MADE
WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE EXECUTION DATE OF THE STOCK ISSUANCE
AGREEMENT. THIS FILING SHOULD BE MADE BY REGISTERED OR CERTIFIED MAIL,
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED. PARTICIPANT MUST RETAIN TWO (2) COPIES OF THE
COMPLETED FORM FOR FILING WITH HIS OR HER FEDERAL AND STATE TAX RETURNS FOR
THE CURRENT TAX YEAR AND AN ADDITIONAL COPY FOR HIS OR HER RECORDS.
APPENDIX
The following definitions shall be in effect under the Agreement:
A. AGREEMENT shall mean this Stock Issuance Agreement.
B. BOARD shall mean the Corporation's Board of Directors.
C. CODE shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
D. COMMON STOCK shall mean the Corporation's common stock.
E. CORPORATE TRANSACTION shall mean either of the following
stockholder-approved transactions:
(i) a merger or consolidation in which securities
possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting
power of the Corporation's outstanding securities are transferred to a
person or persons different from the persons holding those securities
immediately prior to such transaction, or
(ii) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or
substantially all of the Corporation's assets in complete liquidation
or dissolution of the Corporation.
F. CORPORATION shall mean Coldwater Creek, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
G. OWNER shall mean Participant and all subsequent holders of the
Purchased Shares who derive their chain of ownership through a Permitted
Transfer from Participant.
H. PARENT shall mean any corporation (other than the Corporation) in an
unbroken chain of corporations ending with the Corporation, provided each
corporation in the unbroken chain (other than the Corporation) owns, at the time
of the determination, stock possessing fifty percent (50%) or more of the total
combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the other corporations
in such chain.
I. PARTICIPANT shall mean the person to whom the Purchased Shares are
issued under the Stock Issuance Program.
A-1.
J. PERMITTED TRANSFER shall mean (i) a gratuitous transfer of the
Purchased Shares, PROVIDED AND ONLY IF Participant obtains the Corporation's
prior written consent to such transfer, (ii) a transfer of title to the
Purchased Shares effected pursuant to Participant's will or the laws of
intestate succession following Participant's death or (iii) a transfer to the
Corporation in pledge as security for any purchase-money indebtedness
incurred by Participant in connection with the acquisition of the Purchased
Shares.
K. PLAN shall mean the Corporation's 1996 Stock Option/Stock Issuance
Plan.
L. PLAN ADMINISTRATOR shall mean either the Board or a committee of the
Board acting in its administrative capacity under the Plan.
M. PURCHASE PRICE shall have the meaning assigned to such term in
Paragraph A.1.
N. PURCHASED SHARES shall have the meaning assigned to such term in
Paragraph A.1.
O. RECAPITALIZATION shall mean any stock split, stock dividend,
recapitalization, combination of shares, exchange of shares or other change
affecting the Corporation's outstanding Common Stock as a class without the
Corporation's receipt of consideration.
P. REORGANIZATION shall mean any of the following transactions:
(i) a merger or consolidation in which the Corporation is
not the surviving entity,
(ii) a sale, transfer or other disposition of all or
substantially all of the Corporation's assets,
(iii) a reverse merger in which the Corporation is the
surviving entity but in which the Corporation's outstanding voting
securities are transferred in whole or in part to a person or persons
different from the persons holding those securities immediately prior
to the merger, or
(iv) any transaction effected primarily to change the state
in which the Corporation is incorporated or to create a holding
company structure.
Q. REPURCHASE RIGHT shall mean the right granted to the Corporation in
accordance with Article C.
A-2.
R. SERVICE shall mean the Participant's performance of services on a
periodic basis for the Corporation (or any Parent or Subsidiary) in the
capacity of an employee, a non-employee member of the board of directors or
an independent consultant or advisor, except to the extent otherwise
specifically provided in the appicable stock option or stock issuance
agreement.
S. STOCK ISSUANCE PROGRAM shall mean the Stock Issuance Program under
the Plan.
T. SUBSIDIARY shall mean any corporation (other than the Corporation)
in an unbroken chain of corporations beginning with the Corporation, provided
each corporation (other than the last corporation) in the unbroken chain
owns, at the time of the determination, stock possessing fifty percent (50%)
or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of
the other corporations in such chain.
U. VESTING SCHEDULE shall mean the vesting schedule specified in
Paragraph C.3, subject to the acceleration provisions of Paragraph C.5.
V. UNVESTED SHARES shall have the meaning assigned to such term in
Paragraph C.1.
A-3.