DEF 14C 1 def14c.htm

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14C INFORMATION

Information Statement Pursuant to Section 14(c) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.    )

 

Check the appropriate box:
   
[  ] Preliminary Information Statement
   
[  ] Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14c-5(d)(2))
   
[X] Definitive Information Statement

 

DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

 

[X] No Fee Required
     
[  ] Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14c-5(g) and 0-11.
     
  (1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
   
     
  (2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:
   
     
  (3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
   
     
  (4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
   
     
  (5) Total fee paid:
   
     
[  ] Fee paid previously with preliminary materials:
     
[  ] Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the form or schedule and the date of its filing.
     
  (1) Amount previously paid:
   
     
  (2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
   
     
  (3) Filing party:
   
     
  (4) Date filed:
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.

13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293

Woodinville, WA 98072

 

Dear Stockholders:

 

This Notice and the accompanying Information Statement are being furnished to the holders (“Stockholders”) of shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 of Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Inc. (the “Common Stock”), a Wyoming corporation (the “Company”), in connection with an action taken by the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding voting stock (the “Majority Consenting Stockholders”), which action was approved by written consent on July 11, 2021 (the “Stockholder Consent”), to:

 

(i) approve an Amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock of the Company from 250,000,000 to 500,000,000 and to increase the number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock of the Company from 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 (the “Authorized Share Amendment”). (A copy of the form of the Authorized Share Amendment is attached as Appendix A to this Information Statement);

 

(ii) adopt the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Equity Incentive Plan”). (A copy of the form of the Equity Incentive Plan is attached as Appendix B to this Information Statement);

 

(iii) to ratify the appointment of Michael T. Studer CPA PC as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021; and

 

(iv) to elect two (2) directors to serve until their successors are elected and qualified (“Election of Directors”).

 

This Information Statement is being sent to you for information purposes only and you are not required to take any action. Please read the attached Information Statement carefully. It describes the essential terms of the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock and the actions to be taken with respect thereto. Additional information about the Corporation is contained in its reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Corporation’s reports filed with the SEC, their accompanying exhibits and other documents filed with the SEC may be obtained on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

No action is required by you to effectuate this action. The accompanying Information Statement is furnished only to inform our stockholders in accordance with Rule 14c-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act of the action described above before it takes effect. This letter is the notice required by WBCA Section 17-16-704.

 

WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY.

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE HOLDERS OF A MAJORITY OF THE OUTSTANDING SHARES OF OUR COMMON STOCK HAVE VOTED TO AUTHORIZE THE REVERSE SPLIT. THE NUMBER OF VOTES RECEIVED IS SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY THE STOCKHOLDER VOTE REQUIREMENT AND NO ADDITIONAL VOTES WILL CONSEQUENTLY BE NEEDED TO APPROVE THIS MATTER.

 

Please feel free to call us at (833) 304-7336 should you have any questions on the enclosed Information Statement.

 

  For the Board of Directors of
  DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.
   
Date: August 4, 2021 By: /s/ Lloyd Spencer
    Lloyd Spencer
    Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

THIS INFORMATION STATEMENT IS BEING PROVIDED TO

YOU BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY

 

DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.

13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293

Woodinville, WA 98072

 

INFORMATION STATEMENT

 

August 4, 2021

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is furnishing this Information Statement to you to provide a description of actions taken by our board of directors (the “Board”) on July 11, 2021 and by the holders of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”) (the “Majority Stockholders”), in accordance with the relevant sections of our articles of incorporation, our bylaws and the Wyoming Business Corporation Act (the “WBCA”).

 

This Information Statement is being mailed on or about August 9, 2021 to stockholders of record on July 11, 2021 (the “Record Date”). This Information Statement is being delivered only to inform you of the corporate action described herein in accordance with Rule 14c-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), before such action takes effect. No action is requested or required on your part.

 

WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY.

 

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF A MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS AND NO STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING WILL BE HELD TO CONSIDER ANY MATTER DESCRIBED HEREIN.

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE HOLDERS OF A MAJORITY OF OUTSTANDING SHARES OF OUR COMMON STOCK HAVE VOTED TO AUTHORIZE THE REVERSE SPLIT. THE NUMBER OF VOTES RECEIVED IS SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY THE STOCKHOLDER VOTE REQUIREMENT AND NO ADDITIONAL VOTES WILL CONSEQUENTLY BE NEEDED TO APPROVE THIS MATTER.

 

OUTSTANDING VOTING SECURITIES

 

General

 

Our authorized capital stock consists of 250,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock. As of the July 11, 2021 (“Record Date”), we had issued and outstanding 187,669,694 shares of Common Stock and 31,000 shares of Preferred Stock.

 

The number of voting shares outstanding excludes shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of outstanding Convertible Notes.

 

The WBCA provides in substance that unless our Articles of Incorporation provides otherwise, stockholders may take action without a meeting of stockholders and without prior notice if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the stockholders having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present.

 

Common Stock

 

Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a stockholder vote. Holders of common stock do not have cumulative voting rights. Therefore, holders of a majority of the shares of common stock voting for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Holders of the Company’s common stock representing a majority of the voting power of the Company’s capital stock issued, outstanding and entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, are necessary to constitute a quorum at any meeting of stockholders. A vote by the holders of a majority of the Company’s outstanding shares is required to effectuate certain fundamental corporate changes such as liquidation, merger or an amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation.

 

Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to share in all dividends that the board of directors, in its discretion, declares from legally available funds. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up, each outstanding share entitles its holder to participate pro rata in all assets that remain after payment of liabilities and after providing for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. The Company’s common stock has no pre-emptive rights, no conversion rights and there are no redemption provisions applicable to the Company’s common stock.

 

Preferred Stock

 

Holders of the Series B, shall not be entitled to receive dividends, nor shall dividends be paid on common stock or any other Series of Preferred Stock while Series B shares are outstanding. The holders of Series B shall be entitled to vote on all matters submitted to a vote of the Shareholders of the Company. The holders of the Series B shall be entitled to twenty thousand (20,000) votes per one share of Series B held. Upon the availability of a sufficient number of authorized but unissued and unreserved shares of common stock, the holders of any Series B Preferred Stock shall be entitled to convert such shares in to fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock at the following conversion feature: the Conversion Price for each share of Series B Preferred Stock in effect on any Conversion Date shall be (i) eighty five percent (85%) of the average closing bid price of the Common Stock over the twenty (20) trading days immediately preceding the date of conversion, (ii) but no less than Par Value of the Common Stock. For purposes of determining the closing bid price on any day, reference shall be to the closing bid price for a share of Common Stock on such date on the NASD OTC Bulletin Board, as reported on Bloomberg, L.P. Any conversion shall be for a minimum Stated Value of $500.00 of Series B shares.

 

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If the Corporation shall commence a voluntary case under the U.S. Federal bankruptcy laws or any other applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law, or consent to the entry of an order for relief in an involuntary case under any law or to the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or other similar official) of the Corporation or of any substantial part of its property, or make an assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or admit in writing its inability to pay its debts generally as they become due, or if a decree or order for relief in respect of the Corporation shall be entered by a court having jurisdiction in the premises in an involuntary case under the U.S. Federal bankruptcy laws or any other applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law resulting in the appointment of a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or other similar official) of the Corporation or of any substantial part of its property, or ordering the winding up or liquidation of its affairs, and any such decree or order shall be unstayed and in effect for a period of sixty (60) consecutive days and, on account of any such event, the Corporation shall liquidate, dissolve or wind up, or if the Corporation shall otherwise liquidate, dissolve or wind up, including, but not limited to, the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the Corporation’s assets in one transaction or in a series of related transactions (a “Liquidation Event”), no distribution shall be made to the holders of any shares of capital stock of the Corporation (other than Senior Securities and Pari Passu Securities) upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up unless prior thereto the Holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have received the Liquidation Preference (as defined below) with respect to each share. If, upon the occurrence of a Liquidation Event, the assets and funds available for distribution among the Holders of the Series B Preferred Stock and Holders of Pari Passu Securities shall be insufficient to permit the payment to such holders of the preferential amounts payable thereon, then the entire assets and funds of the Corporation legally available for distribution to the Series B Preferred Stock and the Pari Passu Securities shall be distributed ratably among such shares in proportion to the ratio that the Liquidation Preference payable on each such share bears to the aggregate Liquidation Preference payable on all such shares. The number of authorized shares constituting the Series B is One Hundred Thousand (100,000) shares.

 

Required Vote

 

The Common Stock and the Series B Preferred are the only classes of outstanding voting stock of the Company. As of July 11, 2021, there were 187,669,694 shares of Common Stock and 31,000 shares of Series B Preferred issued and outstanding. On July 11, 2021, the following holders of shares of the Common Stock and Series B Preferred Stock, representing 86.05% of the outstanding voting power of the Company (the “Majority Stockholders”), executed the written consent of the Majority Stockholders approving the Corporate Actions (the (the “Approval Date”):

 

Name of Majority Stockholder  Number of Shares of Common Stock held   Number of Shares of Series B Preferred
held (1)
   Number of Votes held by Majority Stockholder (1)   Number of Votes that Voted in favor of the Corporate Actions (2)   Percentage of the Voting Equity that Voted in favor of the Corporate Actions 
Lloyd Spencer   2,636,379    0    2,636,379    2,636,379    0.33%
Bill Edmonds   62,544,714    31,000    682,544,714    682,544,714    84.51%
David Bradford   9,807,041    0    9,807,041    9,807,041    1.21%
Total   74,988,134    31,000    694,988,134    694,988,134    86.05%

 

(1) The holders of Series B Preferred shall be entitled to vote on all matters submitted to a vote of the Shareholders of the Company. The holders of the Series B Preferred shall be entitled to twenty thousand (20,000) votes per one share of Series B held.

 

(2) Based on 807,669,694 shares of Common Stock entitled to vote, including the number of shares of Common Stock entitled to vote under the Series B Preferred.

 

Since the Board and Majority Stockholders voted in favor of the Corporate Actions, all corporate actions necessary to authorize the Corporate Actions have been taken. In accordance with Rule 14c-2 of the Exchange Act, the Corporate Actions will be effective no earlier than twenty (20) days after this Information Statement has been sent or made available to our shareholders, which date of effectiveness is estimated to be August 29, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). The increase in the authorized number of shares of Common and Preferred Stock will become effective upon the filing of the Authorized Share Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Wyoming after the Effective Date.

 

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Costs of the Information Statement

 

We are mailing this Information Statement and will bear the costs associated therewith. We are not making any solicitations. We will request brokerage houses, nominees, custodians, fiduciaries and other like parties to forward this Information Statement to the beneficial owners of our Common Stock and Series B Preferred Stock held of record by them and will reimburse such persons for their reasonable charges and expenses in connection therewith. The costs of preparing, printing and mailing this Information Statement will be borne by the Company.

 

General Description of Corporate Actions:

 

ITEM 1:

 

AMENDMENT TO OUR ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

TO INCREASE THE AUTHORIZED SHARES OF COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK

 

On July 11, 2021, the Board unanimously approved an Amendment to our Articles of Incorporation (the “Authorized Share Amendment”) to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock of the Company from 250,000,000 to 500,000,000 and to increase the number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock of the Company from 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 with the Board maintaining the discretion of whether or not to implement the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock. On July 11, 2021, the Majority Stockholders delivered an executed written consent in lieu of a special meeting (the “Stockholder Consent”) authorizing and approving the Authorized Share Amendment and the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock.

 

The Board will effect the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock, if at all, by filing the Authorized Share Amendment with the Wyoming Secretary of State, which will occur no sooner than 20 calendar days after the date this Information Statement has been mailed to stockholders. After such 20-day period, the Board has the authority to effect the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock at any time prior to the one-year anniversary of the date of the Stockholder Consent. A form of the Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation is attached to this Information Statement as Appendix A. No further action on the part of our stockholders is required to authorize or effect the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock.

 

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Under the WBCA and our articles of incorporation and bylaws, any action that can be taken at an annual or special meeting of stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if the holders of outstanding stock, having not less than the minimum number of votes necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present, consent to such action in writing. Under the WBCA, the Amendment and the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock require the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding securities.

 

Our Board unanimously approved the Authorized Share Amendment, subject to stockholder approval, and on July 11, 2021, the holders of approximately 86.05% of the voting shares of Common and Preferred Stock executed and delivered to us the Stockholder Consent approving the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock.

 

Accordingly, we have obtained all corporate approval required for the Authorized Share Amendment and the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock. We do not require and we are not seeking any further consent to the Authorized Share Amendment and the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock. This Information Statement is furnished solely for the purposes of advising stockholders of the approval of the Amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation and giving stockholders notice of the Amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, as required by the WBCA and the Exchange Act.

 

Reason for Increase in Authorized Capital

 

In order to permit us to raise capital or issue our Common Stock for other business purposes, we need to have available unissued but authorized shares of common stock and therefore need to increase the number of shares of our common stock authorized for issuance.

 

As a result of the increase in authorized Common and Preferred Stock, the Company will be able to issue shares from time to time as may be required for proper business purposes, such as raising additional capital for ongoing operations, establishing strategic relationships with corporate partners, acquiring or investing in complementary businesses or products, providing equity incentives to employees, and effecting stock splits or stock dividends. The Company has reserved a significant number of shares of its common stock for conversion of outstanding principal and interest on its convertible notes.

 

Effects of Increase

 

In general, the issuance of any new shares of Common Stock will cause immediate dilution to the Company’s existing stockholders, may affect the amount of any dividends paid to such stockholders and may reduce the share of the proceeds of the Company that they would receive upon liquidation of the Company. Another effect of increasing the Company’s authorized Common Stock may be to enable the Board of Directors to render it more difficult to, or discourage an attempt to, obtain control of the Company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of present management. The Board of Directors would, unless prohibited by applicable law, have additional shares of common stock available to effect transactions (such as private placements) in which the number of the Company’s outstanding shares would be increased and would thereby dilute the interest of any party attempting to gain control of the Company, even if such party is offering a significant premium over the current market price of the common stock. Such an issuance of shares of common stock would increase the number of outstanding shares, thereby possibly diluting the interest of a party attempting to obtain control of the Company. The Board of Directors is not aware of any attempt, or contemplated attempt, to acquire control of the Company, and this resolution was not presented with the intent that the increase in the Company’s authorized Common Stock be utilized as an anti-takeover measure.

 

The increase in the number of authorized shares of the Company’s Common Stock from 250,000,000 shares to 500,000,000 shares and the increase in the number of the Company’s authorized shares of Preferred Stock from 2,000,000 shares to 5,000,000 shares was approved by shareholders holding a majority of the voting rights.

 

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No appraisal rights

 

Under the WBCA, stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rights with respect to the Amendment to increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock and we will not independently provide stockholders with any such right.

 

Effective date of the increase in authorized shares of common and preferred stock

 

The Board will effect the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock, if at all, by filing the Amendment with the Wyoming Secretary of State, which will occur no sooner than 20 calendar days after the date this Information Statement has been mailed to stockholders. After such 20-day period, the Board has the authority to effect the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock at any time prior to the one-year anniversary of the date of the Stockholder Consent. Our Board may also abandon the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock.

 

ITEM 2:

 

ADOPTION OF THE 2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN (“2021 PLAN”)

 

Key Features of the 2021 Plan

 

Certain key features of the 2021 Plan are summarized as follows:

 

  Up to a maximum aggregate of 40,000,000 shares of Common Stock may be issued under the 2021 Plan;
     
  The number of Shares available for grant and issuance under the Plan shall be increased on January 1, 2022, and subsequently in each of the Ten (10) calendar years during the term of the Plan, by the lesser of (a) Three Percent (3%) of the number of Shares issued and outstanding on each December 31 immediately prior to the date of increase or (b) such number of Shares determined by the Board;
     
  The 2021 Plan will be administered by the Committee or by the Board acting as the Committee. Subject to the general purposes, terms and conditions of this Plan, and to the direction of the Board, the Committee will have full power to implement and carry out this Plan, except, however, the Board shall establish the terms for the grant of an Award to Non-Employee Directors;
     
  Employees, consultants and board members are eligible to receive awards, provided that the Committee has the discretion to determine (i) who shall receive any awards, and (ii) the terms and conditions of such awards;
     
  Awards may consist of ISOs, NQSOs, restricted stock, RSUs, SARs, and other equity awards;
     
  The Exercise Price of an Option will be determined by the Committee when the Option is granted; provided that: (a) the Exercise Price of an Option will be not less than eighty percent (80%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant and (b) the Exercise Price of any ISO granted to a Ten Percent Stockholder will not be less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant;
     
  The maximum exercisable term of stock options and SARs may not exceed five years; and
     
  Awards are subject to recoupment of compensation policies adopted by us.

 

Eligibility to Receive Awards

 

Stock Grants may be granted only to Employees. All other Awards may be granted to Employees, Consultants, Directors and Non-Employee Directors; provided such Consultants, Directors and Non-Employee Directors render bona fide services not in connection with the offer and sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction. No Participant will be eligible to receive an Award or Awards for more than Six Million (6,000,000) Shares in any calendar year under this Plan.

 

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Shares Subject to the 2021 Plan

 

The total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan as of the date of adoption of the Plan by the Board, is Forty Million (40,000,000) Shares.

 

Shares subject to Awards, and Shares issued under the Plan under any Award, will again be available for grant and issuance in connection with subsequent Awards under this Plan to the extent such Shares: (a) are subject to issuance upon exercise of an Option or Stock Appreciation Rights (SAR) granted under this Plan but which cease to be subject to the Option for any reason other than exercise of the Option or SAR; (b) are subject to Awards granted under this Plan that are forfeited or are repurchased by the Company at the original issue price; (c) are subject to Awards granted under this Plan that otherwise terminate without such Shares being issued; or (d) are surrendered pursuant to an Exchange Program.

 

Administration of the 2021 Plan

 

This Plan will be administered by the Committee or by the Board acting as the Committee. Subject to the general purposes, terms and conditions of this Plan, and to the direction of the Board, the Committee will have full power to implement and carry out this Plan, except, however, the Board shall establish the terms for the grant of an Award to Non-Employee Directors. The Committee will have the authority to:

 

  (a) construe and interpret this Plan, any Award Agreement and any other agreement or document executed pursuant to this Plan;
     
  (b) prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to this Plan or any Award;
     
  (c) select persons to receive Awards;
     
  (d) determine the form and terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, of any Award granted hereunder. Such terms and conditions include, but are not limited to, the exercise price, the time or times when Awards may vest and be exercised (which may be based on performance criteria) or settled, any vesting acceleration or waiver of forfeiture restrictions, the method to satisfy tax withholding obligations or any other tax liability legally due and any restriction or limitation regarding any Award or the Shares relating thereto, based in each case on such factors as the Board or Compensation Committee will determine;
     
  (e) determine the number of Shares or other consideration subject to Awards;
     
  (f) determine the Fair Market Value in good faith and interpret the applicable provisions of this Plan and the definition of Fair Market Value in connection with circumstances that impact the Fair Market Value, if necessary;
     
  (g) determine whether Awards will be granted singly, in combination with, in tandem with, in replacement of, or as alternatives to, other Awards under this Plan or any other incentive or compensation plan of the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate;
     
  (h) grant waivers of Plan or Award conditions;
     
  (i) determine the vesting, exercisability and payment of Awards;
     
  (j) correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in this Plan, any Award or any Award Agreement;
     
  (k) determine whether an Award has been earned;

 

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  (l) determine the terms and conditions of any, and to institute any Exchange Program;
     
  (m) reduce or waive any criteria with respect to Performance Factors;
     
  (n) adjust Performance Factors to take into account changes in law and accounting or tax rules as the Committee deems necessary or appropriate to reflect the impact of extraordinary or unusual items, events or circumstances to avoid windfalls or hardships provided that such adjustments are consistent with the regulations promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code with respect to persons whose compensation is subject to Section 162(m) of the Code;
     
  (o) adopt rules and/or procedures (including the adoption of any sub plan under this Plan) relating to the operation and administration of the Plan to accommodate requirements of local law and procedures outside of the United States;
     
  (p) make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of this Plan;
     
  (q) delegate any of the foregoing to one or more executive officers pursuant to a specific delegation as permitted by applicable law, including Wyoming Business Corporation Act.; and
     
  (r) to exercise negative discretion on Performance Awards, reducing or eliminating the amount to be paid to Participants.

 

Types of Awards

 

  Options- Option is the right but not the obligation to purchase a Share, subject to certain conditions, if applicable. The Committee may grant Options to eligible Employees, Consultants and Directors and will determine whether such Options will be Incentive Stock Options within the meaning of the Code (“Stock Grants”) or Nonqualified Stock Options (“NSOs”), the number of Shares subject to the Option, the Exercise Price of the Option, the period during which the Option may vest and be exercised.
     
  Restricted Stock Awards- A Restricted Stock Award is an offer by the Company to sell to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director Shares that are subject to restrictions (“Restricted Stock”). The Committee will determine to whom an offer will be made, the number of Shares the Participant may purchase, the Purchase Price, the restrictions under which the Shares will be subject.
     
  Stock Bonus Awards- A Stock Bonus Award is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director of Shares for Services to be rendered or for past Services already rendered to the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate. All Stock Bonus Awards shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement. No payment from the Participant will be required for Shares awarded pursuant to a Stock Bonus Award.
     
  Stock Appreciation Rights- A Stock Appreciation Right (“SAR”) is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director that may be settled in cash, or Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock), having a value equal to (a) the difference between the Fair Market Value on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price multiplied by (b) the number of Shares with respect to which the SAR is being settled (subject to any maximum number of Shares that may be issuable as specified in an Award Agreement). All SARs shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.
     
  Restricted Stock Units- A Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director covering a number of Shares that may be settled in cash, or by issuance of those Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock). All RSUs shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.
     
  Performance Awards- A Performance Award is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director of a cash bonus or an award of Performance Shares or Performance Units denominated in Shares that may be settled in cash, or by issuance of those Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock). Grants of Performance Awards shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.

 

Federal Tax Consequences of the 2021 Plan

 

The following is a general summary, as of the date of this information statement, of the federal income tax consequences to participants and the Company of transactions under the 2021 Plan. This summary is intended for general information only and not as tax guidance to participants in the 2021 Plan, as the consequences may vary with the types of grants made, the identity of the participant, and the method of payment or settlement. The summary does not address the effects of other federal taxes or taxes imposed under state, local, or foreign tax laws. Participants are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of participation in the 2021 Plan.

 

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Incentive Stock Options. With respect to incentive stock options, generally, the participant is not taxed, and we are not entitled to a deduction, on either the grant or the exercise of an incentive stock option so long as the requirements of Section 422 of the Code continue to be met. If the participant meets the employment requirements and does not dispose of the shares of our Common Stock acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock option until at least one year after date of the exercise of the stock option and at least two years after the date the stock option was granted, gain or loss realized on sale of the shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss. If the shares of our Common Stock are disposed of before those periods expire, which is called a disqualifying disposition, the participant will be required to recognize ordinary income in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the excess, if any, of the fair market value of our Common Stock on the date of exercise over the exercise price, or (ii) if the disposition is a taxable sale or exchange, the amount of gain realized. Upon a disqualifying disposition, we will generally be entitled, in the same tax year, to a deduction equal to the amount of ordinary income recognized by the participant, assuming that a deduction is allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code.
   
Non-Statutory Stock Options. The grant of a stock option that does not qualify for treatment as an incentive stock option, which is generally referred to as a non-statutory stock option, is generally not a taxable event for the participant. Upon exercise of the stock option, the participant will generally be required to recognize ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value of our Common Stock acquired upon exercise (determined as of the date of exercise) over the exercise price of the stock option, and we will be entitled to a deduction in an equal amount in the same tax year, assuming that a deduction is allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code. At the time of a subsequent sale or disposition of shares obtained upon exercise of a non-statutory stock option, any gain or loss will be a capital gain or loss, which will be either a long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, depending on how long the shares have been held.
   
SARs. The grant of a SAR will not cause the participant to recognize ordinary income or entitle us to a deduction for federal income tax purposes. Upon the exercise of a SAR, the participant will recognize ordinary income in the amount of the cash or the value of shares payable to the participant (before reduction for any withholding taxes), and we will receive a corresponding deduction in an amount equal to the ordinary income recognized by the participant, assuming that a deduction is allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code.
   
Restricted Stock, RSUs, Deferred Stock Units, and Other Stock-Based Awards. The federal income tax consequences with respect to restricted stock, RSUs, deferred stock units, performance shares and performance stock units, and other stock unit and stock-based awards depend on the facts and circumstances of each award, including, in particular, the nature of any restrictions imposed with respect to the awards. In general, if an award of stock granted to the participant is subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture” (e.g., the award is conditioned upon the future performance of substantial services by the participant) and is nontransferable, a taxable event occurs when the risk of forfeiture ceases or the awards become transferable, whichever first occurs. At such time, the participant will recognize ordinary income to the extent of the excess of the fair market value of the stock on such date over the participant’s cost for such stock (if any), and the same amount is deductible by us, assuming that a deduction is allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code. Under certain circumstances, the participant, by making an election under Section 83(b) of the Code, can accelerate federal income tax recognition with respect to an award of stock that is subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture and transferability restrictions, in which event the ordinary income amount and our deduction will be measured and timed as of the grant date of the award. If the stock award granted to the participant is not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture or transferability restrictions, the participant will recognize ordinary income with respect to the award to the extent of the excess of the fair market value of the stock at the time of grant over the participant’s cost, if any, and the same amount is deductible by us, assuming that a deduction is allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code. If a stock unit award or other stock-based award is granted but no stock is actually issued to the participant at the time the award is granted, the participant will recognize ordinary income at the time the participant receives the stock free of any substantial risk of forfeiture (or receives cash in lieu of such stock) and the amount of such income will be equal to the fair market value of the stock at such time over the participant’s cost, if any, and the same amount is then deductible by us, assuming that a deduction is allowed under Section 162(m) of the Code.
   
Withholding Obligations. We are entitled to withhold and deduct from future wages of the participant, to make other arrangements for the collection of, or to require the participant to pay to us an amount necessary for us to satisfy the participant’s federal, state, or local tax withholding obligations with respect to awards granted under the 2021 Plan. Withholding for taxes may be calculated based on the maximum applicable tax rate for the participant’s jurisdiction or such other rate that will not trigger a negative accounting impact on the Company. The Compensation Committee may permit a participant to satisfy a tax withholding obligation by withholding shares of Common Stock underlying an award, tendering previously acquired shares, delivery of a broker exercise notice, or a combination of these methods.
   
Code Section 409A. A participant may be subject to a 20% penalty tax, in addition to ordinary income tax, at the time a grant becomes vested, plus an interest penalty tax, if the grant constitutes deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Code and the requirements of Section 409A of the Code are not satisfied.

 

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Code Section 162(m). Pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code, the annual compensation paid to an individual who is a “covered employee” is not deductible by us to the extent it exceeds $1 million. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act, signed into law on December 22, 2017, amended Section 162(m), effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, (i) to expand the definition of a “covered employee” to include any person who was the Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Financial Officer at any time during the year and the three most highly compensated officers (other than the Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Financial Officer) who were employed at any time during the year whether or not the compensation is reported in the Summary Compensation Table included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2020; (ii) to treat any individual who is considered a covered employee at any time during a tax year beginning after July 1, 2020 as remaining a covered employee permanently; and (iii) to eliminate the performance-based compensation exception to the $1 million deduction limit (with a transition provision continuing the performance-based exception for certain compensation covered by a written binding contract in existence on November 2, 2017).
   
Excise Tax on Parachute Payments. Unless otherwise provided in a separate agreement between a participant and the Company, if, with respect to a participant, the acceleration of the vesting of an award or the payment of cash in exchange for all or part of an award, together with any other payments that such participant has the right to receive from the Company, would constitute a “parachute payment,” then the payments to such participant will be reduced to the largest amount as will result in no portion of such payments being subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code. Such reduction, however, will only be made if the aggregate amount of the payments after such reduction exceeds the difference between the amount of such payments absent such reduction minus the aggregate amount of the excise tax imposed under Section 4999 of the Code attributable to any such excess parachute payments. If such provisions are applicable and if an employee will be subject to a 20% excise tax on any “excess parachute payment” pursuant to Section 4999 of the Code, we will be denied a deduction with respect to such excess parachute payment pursuant to Section 280G of the Code.

 

ITEM 3:

 

RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF MICHAEL T. STUDER CPA PC AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2021

 

Michael T. Studer CPA PC has served as our independent auditor and accountant since January 2, 2020. Since 2020, there were no disagreements between us and Michael T. Studer CPA PC on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure.

 

The Majority Stockholders ratified the Board’s appointment of Michael T. Studer CPA PC as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.

 

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

 

Michael T. Studer CPA P.C has audited our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

 

1) Audit Fees

 

The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for our audit of annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years was:

 

2020  $30,000   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.
2019  $20,000   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.

 

2) Audit-Related Fees

 

The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services by the principal accountants that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported in the preceding paragraph:

 

2020  $0   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.
2019  $0   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.

 

3) Tax Fees

 

The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning was:

 

2020  $0   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.
2019  $0   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.

 

4) All Other Fees

 

The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for the products and services provided by the principal accountant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) was:

 

2020  $0   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.
2019  $0   Michael T. Studer CPA, P.C.

 

5) During the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 and as of the date of this report, the Company does not maintain an audit committee and therefore does not have an audit committee pre-approval policy in place.

 

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ITEM 4:

 

ELECT TWO DIRECTORS TO SERVE UNTIL THEIR SUCCESSORS ARE ELECTED AND QUALIFIED

 

On the Board Approval Date, the Board unanimously recommended that stockholders elect the below nominees, and on July 12, 2021, the Majority Stockholders elected these nominees to serve as directors. Each director set forth below will serve until the first annual meeting of stockholders to occur following the first date on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted on a national securities exchange (the “Trigger Date”), or their earlier death, resignation or removal.

 

The following table sets forth the names, positions and ages of our directors as of the Effective Date.

 

Name   Age   Position and Term
Lloyd Spencer   65   President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Bill Edmonds   53   Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of the Board

 

Director Qualifications

 

We believe that individuals who serve on our Board should possess the requisite education and experience to make a significant contribution to the Board and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and dedication to serving the interests of our stockholders. The following are qualifications, experience and skills for board members, which are important to our business:

 

  Leadership Experience – We seek directors who demonstrate extraordinary leadership qualities. Strong leaders bring vision, diverse perspectives, and broad business insight to the company. They demonstrate practical management experience, skills for managing change, and knowledge of industries, geographies and risk management strategies relevant to the Company.

 

  Finance Experience – We believe that all directors should possess an understanding of finance and related reporting processes. We also seek directors who qualify as “audit committee financial experts” as defined in rules of the SEC for service on the Audit Committee.

 

  Industry Experience – We seek directors who have relevant industry experience including existing and new technologies, new or expanding businesses and a deep understanding of the Company’s business environments.

 

Lloyd Spencer- President and Chief Executive Officer- Lloyd Spencer- President and Chief Executive Officer – Since December 2019, Lloyd Spencer has served as the Company’s President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary, and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Spencer served as Corporate Secretary of TraqIQ, Inc. From 2004 through 2016, Mr. Spencer served as Chairman and President of CoroWare, Inc. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Spencer was Vice President of Sales at Planet Technologies, a systems integration company based in Germantown, MD. From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Spencer was Solutions Unit Manager and Group Product Manager at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Spencer served as Assistant Vice-President and Business Unit Manager at Newbridge Networks; and Product Line Manager at Sun Microsystems. Mr. Spencer began his career as a software development engineer at Hewlett-Packard Corporation in Cupertino, California. Mr. Spencer received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 1980 with a major in Biology and Animal Science and with an emphasis in Immunogenetics.

 

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Bill Edmonds- Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of the Board- Bill Edmonds is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and serves as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Deep Green Waste & Recycling. He was the President of Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Inc from 2017 through 2019 and President of Deep Green Waste & Recycling, LLC from 2011 to 2017. Bill also served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Compaction and Recycling Equipment Inc. (CARE) and Columbia Financial Services Inc. (CFSI), from 2018 to 2020. Before starting Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Bill served as CFO and VP of Operations at International Environmental Management (IEM), a waste & recycling business that was focused exclusively on retail mall businesses. Prior to IEM, Bill spent several years in telecommunications in various leadership positions. Mr. Edmonds has an extensive background in Finance and is a CPA. He graduated from Georgia Tech University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and Emory University with an Executive Masters of Business Administration degree.

 

Options/SARS Grants During Last Fiscal Year

 

None.

 

Directors’ Compensation

 

On January 9, 2020, the Company and Lloyd Spencer (the “Director”) entered into a Board of Directors Services Agreement whereby the Director shall receive compensation for serving on the Company’s Board of Directors equivalent to Five Thousand and no/100 dollars ($5,000.00) of the Company’s common stock, paid to the Director on the last calendar day of each fiscal quarter as long as Director continues to fulfill his duties and provide the services set forth above. The pricing of the stock to be delivered shall be calculated as: $5,000/(Closing stock price on the last calendar day of the fiscal quarter x 0.8). The Director shall begin receiving compensation for services rendered under this Agreement beginning during the first calendar quarter of 2020.

 

On January 9, 2020, the Company and Bill Edmonds (the “Director”) entered into a Board of Directors Services Agreement whereby the Director shall receive compensation for serving on the Company’s Board of Directors equivalent to Five Thousand and no/100 dollars ($5,000.00) of the Company’s common stock, paid to the Director on the last calendar day of each fiscal quarter as long as Director continues to fulfill his duties and provide the services set forth above. The pricing of the stock to be delivered shall be calculated as: $5,000/(Closing stock price on the last calendar day of the fiscal quarter x 0.8). The Director shall begin receiving compensation for services rendered under this Agreement beginning during the first calendar quarter of 2020.

 

Governance of Our Company

 

We seek to maintain high standards of business conduct and corporate governance, which we believe are fundamental to the overall success of our business, serving our shareholders well and maintaining our integrity in the marketplace. Our corporate governance guidelines and code of business conduct, together with our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and the charters for each of our Board committees, form the basis for our corporate governance framework. We also are subject to certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC. The full text of the Code of Conduct is available on our website at https://www.deepgreenwaste.com.

 

Our Board of Directors

 

Our Board currently consists of two members. The number of directors on our Board can be determined from time to time by action of our Board.

 

Our Board believes its members collectively have the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills to effectively oversee the management of our Company, including a high degree of personal and professional integrity, an ability to exercise sound business judgment on a broad range of issues, sufficient experience and background to have an appreciation of the issues facing our Company, a willingness to devote the necessary time to their Board and committee duties, a commitment to representing the best interests of the Company and our stockholders and a dedication to enhancing stockholder value.

 

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Risk Oversight. Our Board oversees the management of risks inherent in the operation of our business and the implementation of our business strategies. Our Board performs this oversight role by using several different levels of review. In connection with its reviews of the operations and corporate functions of our Company, our Board of Directors addresses the primary risks associated with those operations and corporate functions. In addition, our Board of Directors reviews the risks associated with our Company’s business strategies periodically throughout the year as part of its consideration of undertaking any such business strategies. Each of our Board committees also coordinates oversight of the management of our risk that falls within the committee’s areas of responsibility. In performing this function, each committee has full access to management, as well as the ability to engage advisors. The Board also is provided updated by the CEO and other executive officers of the Company on a regular basis.

 

Shareholder Communications. Although we do not have a formal policy regarding communications with the Board, shareholders may communicate with the Board by writing to us at 13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293, Woodinville, WA 98072, Attention: Investor Relations or via e-mail communication at info@deepgreenwaste.com. Shareholders who would like their submission directed to a member of the Board may so specify, and the communication will be forwarded, as appropriate. Please note that the foregoing communication procedure does not apply to (i) shareholder proposals pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 14a-8 and communications made in connection with such proposals or (ii) service of process or any other notice in a legal proceeding.

 

Board Committees

 

None. Presently, our Board of Directors is performing the duties that would normally be performed by an audit committee. We intend to form a separate audit committee, and plan to seek potential independent directors. In connection with our search, we plan to appoint an individual qualified as an audit committee financial expert.

 

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

 

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

 

The following table sets forth certain information, as of July 15, 2021, with respect to any person (including any “group”, as that term is used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) who is known to us to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent (5%) of any class of our voting securities, and as to those shares of our equity securities beneficially owned by each of our directors and executive officers and all of our directors and executive officers as a group. Unless otherwise specified in the table below, such information, other than information with respect to our directors and executive officers, is based on a review of statements filed with the Securities and Exchange commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to Sections 13 (d), 13 (f), and 13 (g) of the Exchange Act with respect to our common stock.

 

The number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by each person is determined under the rules of the Commission and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under such rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which such person has sole or shared voting power or investment power and also any shares which the individual has the right to acquire within sixty (60) days after the date hereof, through the exercise of any stock option, warrant or other right. Unless otherwise indicated, each person has sole investment and voting power (or shares such power with his or her spouse) with respect to the shares set forth in the following table. The inclusion herein of any shares deemed beneficially owned does not constitute an admission of beneficial ownership of those shares.

 

The table below shows the number of shares beneficially owned as of July 15, 2021 by each of our individual directors and executive officers, by other holders of 5% or more of the outstanding stock and by all our current directors and executive officers as a group.

 

The percentage of beneficial ownership is based on 233,669,694 shares of our common stock as of July 15, 2021 that includes, 187,669,694 shares of common stock outstanding as of July 15, 2021, 20,000,000 shares issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note issued to GPL Ventures, LLC dated June 4, 2021, 3,000,000 shares issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note issued to GPL Ventures, LLC dated March 2, 2021, 3,000,000 shares issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note issued to GPL Ventures, LLC dated February 5, 2021 and 20,000,000 shares issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note issued to Quick Capital, LLC dated June 4, 2021 and excludes:

 

  An indeterminate number of shares of common stock to be issued upon conversion of the Company’s 31,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred stock.

 

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   Common Stock     
   Beneficially   Percentage of 
Name of Beneficial Owner (1)  Owned   Common Stock (2) 
Lloyd Spencer (3)(4)   2,636,379    1.13%
Bill Edmonds (5)(6)   62,544,714    26.77%
David Bradford (7)(8)   9,807,041    4.20%
           
Officers and Directors as a Group   74,988,134    32.09%
Five Percent Beneficial Owners:          
GPL Ventures, LLC (9)(10)   26,000,000    11.13%
Quick Capital, LLC (11)(12)   20,000,000    8.56%

 

  * Equals less than 1%

 

  (1) Beneficial Ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities. Shares of common stock subject to options, warrants, or convertible debt currently exercisable or convertible, or exercisable or convertible within 60 days of July 15, 2021 are deemed outstanding for computing percentage of the person holding such option or warrant but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of any person. Percentages are based on a total of shares of common stock outstanding on July 15, 2021, and the shares issuable upon exercise of options, warrants exercisable, and debt convertible on or within 60 days of July 15, 2021.
     
  (2) The number of common shares outstanding used in computing the percentages is 233,669,694.
     
  (3) Included within Lloyd Spencer’s beneficial ownership includes 1,870,000 shares of common stock issued to Mr. Spencer as per the terms of the Employment Agreement dated December 4, 2019 and 766,379 shares issued pursuant to the Board of Directors Services Agreement dated January 9, 2020.
     
  (4) The address for Mr. Spencer is 13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293, Woodinville, WA 98072
     
  (5) Included within Bill Edmonds’ beneficial ownership includes 61,778,335 shares of common stock issued to Mr. Edmonds in exchange for membership units held by Mr. Edmonds, issued by Deep Green Waste & Recycling, LLC, in the Merger Agreement by and between Deep Green Waste & Recycling, LLC, Critic Clothing, Inc. and Deep Green Acquisition, LLC dated August 24, 2017 and 766,379 shares issued pursuant to the Board of Directors Services Agreement dated January 9, 2020.
     
  (6) The address for Mr. Edmonds is 13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293, Woodinville, WA 98072.
     
  (7) Included within David Bradford’s beneficial ownership includes 9,807,041 shares of common stock issued to Mr. Bradford in exchange for membership units held by Mr. Bradford, issued by Deep Green Waste & Recycling, LLC, in the Merger Agreement by and between Deep Green Waste & Recycling, LLC, Critic Clothing, Inc. and Deep Green Acquisition, LLC dated August 24, 2017.
     
  (8) The address for Mr. Bradford is 13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293, Woodinville, WA 98072.
     
  (9) Included within GPL Ventures, LLC’s beneficial ownership includes 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to be issued upon the conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note dated June 4, 2021, 3,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to be issued upon the conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note dated March 2, 2021 and 3,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to be issued upon the conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note dated February 5, 2021.

 

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  (10) The address for GPL Ventures, LLC is One Penn Plaza, Suite 6196, New York, NY 10119 and its principal is Alex Dillon.
     
  (11) Included within Quick Capital, LLC’s beneficial ownership includes 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to be issued upon the conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note dated June 4, 2021.
     
  (12) The address for Quick Capital, LLC is 66 W Flagler St., Suite 900 - #2292, Miami, FL 33130 and its principal is Eilon Natan.

 

   Series B     
  

Preferred Stock

   Percentage of 
   Beneficially   Series B 
Name of Beneficial Owner  Owned (1)   Preferred Stock (2) 
Bill Edmonds (3)   31,000    100.00%
           
Total   31,000    100.00%

 

  (1) The holders of the Series B, shall not be entitled to receive dividends, nor shall dividends be paid on common stock or any other Series of Preferred Stock while Series B shares are outstanding. The holders of Series B shall be entitled to vote on all matters submitted to a vote of the Shareholders of the Company. The holders of the Series B shall be entitled to twenty thousand (20,000) votes per one share of Series B held. Upon the availability of a sufficient number of authorized but unissued and unreserved shares of common stock, the holders of any Series B Preferred Stock shall be entitled to convert such shares in to fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock at the following conversion feature: the Conversion Price for each share of Series B Preferred Stock in effect on any Conversion Date shall be (i) eighty five percent (85%) of the average closing bid price of the Common Stock over the twenty (20) trading days immediately preceding the date of conversion, (ii) but no less than Par Value of the Common Stock. For purposes of determining the closing bid price on any day, reference shall be to the closing bid price for a share of Common Stock on such date on the NASD OTC Bulletin Board, as reported on Bloomberg, L.P. Any conversion shall be for a minimum Stated Value of $500.00 of Series B shares.
     
  (2) The number of Series B Preferred shares outstanding used in computing the percentage is 31,000.
     
  (3) The address for Bill Edmonds is 13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293, Woodinville, WA 98072.

 

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

During the period January 1, 2018 to August 7, 2018 (the date of Deep Green’s cessation of its waste recycling business), Deep Green used an entity controlled by Deep Green’s then Chief Executive Officer as a subcontractor to service certain customers of Deep Green. Charges to cost of revenues from this related party totaled $29,190 for the year ended December 31, 2018. At March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, Deep Green had an account payable to this entity of $57,600.

 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This Information Statement may contain certain “forward-looking” statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in its rules, regulations and releases) representing our expectations or beliefs regarding our company. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our business, anticipated financial or operational results, our objectives, the amount and timing of the contemplated initial public offering of our Common Stock. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “estimate,” “might,” or “continue” or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements, by their nature, involve substantial risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond our control, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including factors discussed in this and other filings of ours with the SEC.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and in accordance therewith file reports, proxy statements and other information, including annual and quarterly reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q (the “1934 Act Filings”), with the SEC. Reports and other information we file with the SEC can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained at the SEC at Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such material can be obtained upon written request addressed to the SEC, Public Reference Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates. The SEC maintains a web site on the Internet (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC through the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).

 

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DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS TO SECURITY HOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS

 

We may send only one Information Statement and other corporate mailings to stockholders who share a single address unless we received contrary instructions from any stockholder at that address. This practice, known as “householding,” is designed to reduce our printing and postage costs. However, we will deliver promptly upon written or oral request a separate copy of this Information Statement to a stockholder at a shared address to which a single copy of this Information Statement was delivered. You may make such a written or oral request by (a) sending a written notification stating (i) your name, (ii) your shared address and (iii) the address to which we should direct the additional copy of this Information Statement, to us at 13110 NE 177th Place, Suite 293, Woodinville, WA 98072, telephone: (833) 304-7336.

 

If multiple stockholders sharing an address have received one copy of this Information Statement or any other corporate mailing and would prefer us to mail each stockholder a separate copy of future mailings, you may mail notification to, or call us at, our principal executive offices. Additionally, if current stockholders with a shared address received multiple copies of this Information Statement or other corporate mailings and would prefer us to mail one copy of future mailings to stockholders at the shared address, notification of such request may also be made by mail or telephone to our principal executive offices.

 

This Information Statement is provided to the holders of Common Stock only for information purposes in connection with the actions, pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 14c-2 of the Exchange Act. Please carefully read this Information Statement.

 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

 

We will bear the entire cost of furnishing this Information Statement. We will request brokerage houses, nominees, custodians, fiduciaries and other like parties to forward this Information Statement to the beneficial owners of our Common Stock held of record by them and will reimburse such persons for their reasonable charges and expenses in connection therewith.

 

This Information Statement is being mailed on or about August 9, 2021 to all stockholders of record as of the Record Date. You are being provided with this Information Statement pursuant to Section 14C of the Exchange Act and Regulation 14C and Schedule 14C thereunder, and, in accordance therewith, the Amendment will not be filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Wyoming and the increase in authorized shares of Common and Preferred Stock will not become effective until at least 20 calendar days after the mailing of an Information Statement to stockholders entitled to receive same.

 

  By Order of the Board of Directors
  DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.
   
Date: August 4, 2021 /s/ Lloyd Spencer
  Lloyd Spencer
  Chief Executive Officer

 

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APPENDIX A

PROFIT CORPORATION
ARTICLES OF
AMENDMENT OF
DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.

 

Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Inc., a Wyoming corporation (the “Corporation”), hereby certifies as follows:

 

1. The Articles of Incorporation are hereby amended to replace Section 1 of Article III as follows:

 

Article III

 

Section 1. Authorized Shares. The aggregate number of shares which the Corporation shall have the authority to issue is Five Hundred and Five Million (505,000,000) shares, consisting of two classes to be designated, respectively, “Common Stock” and “Preferred Stock,” with all of such shares having a par value of $.0001 per share. The total number of shares of Common Stock that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is five hundred million (500,000,000) shares. The total number of shares of Preferred Stock that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is five million (5,000,000) shares. The Preferred Stock may be issued in one or more series, each series to be appropriately designated by a distinguishing letter or title, prior to the issuance of any shares thereof. The voting powers, designations, preferences, limitations, restrictions, and relative, participating, optional and other rights, and the qualifications, limitations, or restrictions thereof, of the Preferred Stock shall hereinafter be prescribed by resolution of the board of directors pursuant to Section 2 of this Article III.

 

1.This Amendment does not provide for an exchange, reclassification, or cancellation of issued shares.
   
2.This Amendment was duly adopted on July 11, 2021.
   
3.This Amendment was adopted in accordance with W.S. 17-16-821 of the Business Corporation Act of the State of Wyoming by the Board of Directors of the Corporation by written consent in lieu of a meeting and in accordance with W.S. 17-16-704 of the Business Corporation Act of the State of Wyoming by affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of all outstanding shares of Common Stock entitled to vote thereon by written consent in lieu of a meeting.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused Articles of Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation to be signed as of July 11, 2021, by its Secretary, Lloyd Spencer.

 

DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING

 

By:  /s/ Lloyd Spencer  
  Lloyd Spencer  
  Corporate Secretary  

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX B

DEEP GREEN WASTE & RECYCLING, INC.

2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

 

1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Plan is to provide incentives to attract retain and motivate eligible persons whose presence and potential contributions are important to the success of the Company, Subsidiaries and Affiliates that exist now or in the future, by offering them an opportunity to participate in the Company’s future performance through the grant of Awards. Capitalized terms not defined elsewhere in the text are defined in Section 28.

 

2. SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.

 

2.1. Number of Shares Available. Subject to Sections 2.6 and 21 and any other applicable provisions hereof, the total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan as of the date of adoption of the Plan by the Board, is Forty Million (40,000,000) Shares.

 

2.2. Lapsed, Returned Awards. Shares subject to Awards, and Shares issued under the Plan under any Award, will again be available for grant and issuance in connection with subsequent Awards under this Plan to the extent such Shares: (a) are subject to issuance upon exercise of an Option or Stock Appreciation Rights (SAR) granted under this Plan but which cease to be subject to the Option for any reason other than exercise of the Option or SAR; (b) are subject to Awards granted under this Plan that are forfeited or are repurchased by the Company at the original issue price; (c) are subject to Awards granted under this Plan that otherwise terminate without such Shares being issued; or (d) are surrendered pursuant to an Exchange Program. To the extent an Award under the Plan is paid out in cash rather than Shares, such cash payment will not result in reducing the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan. Shares used to pay the exercise price of an Award or withheld to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to an Award will become available for future grant or sale under the Plan. For the avoidance of doubt, Shares that otherwise become available for grant and issuance because of the provisions of this Section 2.2 shall not include Shares subject to Awards that initially became available because of the substitution clause in Section 21.2 hereof.

 

2.3. Minimum Share Reserve. At all times the Company shall reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares as shall be required to satisfy the requirements of all outstanding Awards granted under this Plan.

 

2.4. Automatic Share Reserve Increase. The number of Shares available for grant and issuance under the Plan shall be increased on January 1, 2022, and subsequently in each of the Ten (10) calendar years during the term of the Plan, by the lesser of (a) Three Percent (3%) of the number of Shares issued and outstanding on each December 31 immediately prior to the date of increase or (b) such number of Shares determined by the Board.

 

2.5. Limitations. No more than Forty Million (40,000,000) Shares shall be issued pursuant to the exercise of Stock Grants.

 

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2.6. Adjustment of Shares. If the number of outstanding Shares is changed by a stock dividend, extraordinary dividends or distributions (whether in cash, Shares or other property, other than a regular cash dividend) recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, subdivision, combination, reclassification, spin-off or similar change in the capital structure of the Company, without consideration, then (a) the number of Shares reserved for issuance and future grant under the Plan set forth in Section 2.1, including Shares reserved under sub-clauses (a)-(c) of Section 2.1, (b) the Exercise Prices of and number of Shares subject to outstanding Options and SARs, (c) the number of Shares subject to other outstanding Awards, (d) the maximum number of Shares that may be issued as Stock Grants set forth in Section 2.5, (d) the maximum number of Shares that may be issued to an individual or to a new Employee in any one calendar year set forth in Section 3 and (e) the number of Shares that may be granted as Awards to Non-Employee Directors as set forth in Section 12, shall be proportionately adjusted, subject to any required action by the Board or the stockholders of the Company and in compliance with applicable securities laws; provided that fractions of a Share will not be issued.

 

3. ELIGIBILITY. Stock Grants may be granted only to Employees. All other Awards may be granted to Employees, Consultants, Directors and Non-Employee Directors; provided such Consultants, Directors and Non-Employee Directors render bona fide services not in connection with the offer and sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction. No Participant will be eligible to receive an Award or Awards for more than Six Million (6,000,000) Shares in any calendar year under this Plan.

 

4. ADMINISTRATION.

 

4.1. Committee Composition; Authority. This Plan will be administered by the Committee or by the Board acting as the Committee. Subject to the general purposes, terms and conditions of this Plan, and to the direction of the Board, the Committee will have full power to implement and carry out this Plan, except, however, the Board shall establish the terms for the grant of an Award to Non-Employee Directors. The Committee will have the authority to:

 

  (a) construe and interpret this Plan, any Award Agreement and any other agreement or document executed pursuant to this Plan;
     
  (b) prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to this Plan or any Award;
     
  (c) select persons to receive Awards;
     
  (d) determine the form and terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, of any Award granted hereunder. Such terms and conditions include, but are not limited to, the exercise price, the time or times when Awards may vest and be exercised (which may be based on performance criteria) or settled, any vesting acceleration or waiver of forfeiture restrictions, the method to satisfy tax withholding obligations or any other tax liability legally due and any restriction or limitation regarding any Award or the Shares relating thereto, based in each case on such factors as the Board or Compensation Committee will determine;

 

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  (e) determine the number of Shares or other consideration subject to Awards;
     
  (f) determine the Fair Market Value in good faith and interpret the applicable provisions of this Plan and the definition of Fair Market Value in connection with circumstances that impact the Fair Market Value, if necessary;
     
  (g) determine whether Awards will be granted singly, in combination with, in tandem with, in replacement of, or as alternatives to, other Awards under this Plan or any other incentive or compensation plan of the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate;
     
  (h) grant waivers of Plan or Award conditions;
     
  (i) determine the vesting, exercisability and payment of Awards;
     
  (j) correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in this Plan, any Award or any Award Agreement;
     
  (k) determine whether an Award has been earned;
     
  (l) determine the terms and conditions of any, and to institute any Exchange Program;
     
  (m) reduce or waive any criteria with respect to Performance Factors;
     
  (n) adjust Performance Factors to take into account changes in law and accounting or tax rules as the Committee deems necessary or appropriate to reflect the impact of extraordinary or unusual items, events or circumstances to avoid windfalls or hardships provided that such adjustments are consistent with the regulations promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code with respect to persons whose compensation is subject to Section 162(m) of the Code;
     
  (o) adopt rules and/or procedures (including the adoption of any sub plan under this Plan) relating to the operation and administration of the Plan to accommodate requirements of local law and procedures outside of the United States;
     
  (p) make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of this Plan;
     
  (q) delegate any of the foregoing to one or more executive officers pursuant to a specific delegation as permitted by applicable law, including Wyoming Business Corporation Act.; and
     
  (r) to exercise negative discretion on Performance Awards, reducing or eliminating the amount to be paid to Participants.

 

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4.2. Committee Interpretation and Discretion. Any determination made by the Board or Compensation Committee with respect to any Award shall be made in its sole discretion at the time of grant of the Award or, unless in contravention of any express term of the Plan or Award, at any later time, and such determination shall be final and binding on the Company and all persons having an interest in any Award under the Plan. Any dispute regarding the interpretation of the Plan or any Award Agreement shall be submitted by the Participant or Company to the Board or Compensation Committee for review. The resolution of such a dispute by the Board or the Compensation Committee shall be final and binding on the Company and the Participant. The Committee may delegate to one or more executive officers the authority to review and resolve disputes with respect to Awards held by Participants who are not Insiders, and such resolution shall be final and binding on the Company and the Participant.

 

4.3. Section 162(m) of the Code and Section 16 of the Exchange Act. When necessary or desirable for an Award to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee administering the Plan in accordance with the requirements of Rule 16b- 3 and Section 162(m) of the Code shall consist of at least two individuals, each of whom qualifies as (a) a Non-Employee Director under Rule 16b-3, and (b) an “outside director” pursuant to Code Section 162(m) and the regulations issued thereunder. At least two (or a majority if more than two then serve on the Committee) such “outside directors” shall approve the grant of such Award and timely determine (as applicable) the Performance Period and any Performance Factors upon which vesting or settlement of any portion of such Award is to be subject. When required by Section 162(m) of the Code, prior to settlement of any such Award at least two (or a majority if more than two then serve on the Committee) such “outside directors” then serving on the Committee shall determine and certify in writing the extent to which such Performance Factors have been timely achieved and the extent to which the Shares subject to such Award have thereby been earned. Awards granted to Participants who are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act must be approved by two or more “non-employee directors” (as defined in the regulations promulgated under Section 16 of the Exchange Act). With respect to Participants whose compensation is subject to Section 162(m) of the Code, and provided that such adjustments are consistent with the regulations promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee may adjust the performance goals to account for changes in law and accounting and to make such adjustments as the Committee deems necessary or appropriate to reflect the impact of extraordinary or unusual items, events or circumstances to avoid windfalls or hardships, including without limitation (a) restructurings, discontinued operations, extraordinary items, and other unusual or non-recurring charges, (b) an event either not directly related to the operations of the Company or not within the reasonable control of the Company’s management, or (c) a change in accounting standards required by generally accepted accounting principles. The application of Rule 16b-3 and Section 162(m) shall not apply until the company becomes a 12g reporting company and required to meet the standards.

 

4.4. Documentation. The Award Agreement for a given Award, the Plan and any other documents may be delivered to, and accepted by, a Participant or any other person in any manner (including electronic distribution or posting) that meets applicable legal requirements.

 

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4.5. Foreign Award Recipients. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in order to comply with the laws and practices in other countries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates operate or have employees or other individuals eligible for Awards, the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall have the power and authority to: (a) determine which Subsidiaries and Affiliates shall be covered by the Plan; (b) determine which individuals outside the United States are eligible to participate in the Plan, which may include individuals who provide services to the Company, Subsidiary or Affiliate under an agreement with a foreign nation or agency; (c) modify the terms and conditions of any Award granted to individuals outside the United States or foreign nationals to comply with applicable foreign laws, policies, customs and practices; (d) establish sub plans and modify exercise procedures and other terms and procedures, to the extent the Committee determines such actions to be necessary or advisable (and such sub plans and/or modifications shall be attached to this Plan as appendices); provided, however, that no such sub plans and/or modifications shall increase the Share limitations contained in Section 2.1 hereof; and (e) take any action, before or after an Award is made, that the Committee determines to be necessary or advisable to obtain approval or comply with any local governmental regulatory exemptions or approvals. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted, that would violate the Exchange Act or any other applicable United States securities law, the Code, or any other applicable United States governing statute or law.

 

5. OPTIONS. An Option is the right but not the obligation to purchase a Share, subject to certain conditions, if applicable. The Committee may grant Options to eligible Employees, Consultants and Directors and will determine whether such Options will be Incentive Stock Options within the meaning of the Code (“Stock Grants”) or Nonqualified Stock Options (“NSOs”), the number of Shares subject to the Option, the Exercise Price of the Option, the period during which the Option may vest and be exercised, and all other terms and conditions of the Option, subject to the following terms of this section.

 

5.1. Option Grant. Each Option granted under this Plan will identify the Option as an ISO or an NSO. An Option may be, but need not be, awarded upon satisfaction of such Performance Factors during any Performance Period as are set out in advance in the Participant’s individual Award Agreement. If the Option is being earned upon the satisfaction of Performance Factors, then the Committee will: (a) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for each Option; and (b) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure the performance, if any. Performance Periods may overlap and Participants may participate simultaneously with respect to Options that are subject to different performance goals and other criteria.

 

5.2. Date of Grant. The date of grant of an Option will be the date on which the Committee makes the determination to grant such Option, or a specified future date. The Award Agreement and a copy of this Plan will be delivered to the Participant within a reasonable time after the granting of the Option.

 

5.3. Exercise Period. Options may be vested and exercisable within the times or upon the conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement governing such Option; provided, however, that no Option will be exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date the Option is granted; and provided further that no ISO granted to a person who, at the time the ISO is granted, directly or by attribution owns more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or of any Parent or Subsidiary (“Ten Percent Stockholder”) will be exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date the ISO is granted. The Committee also may provide for Options to become exercisable at one time or from time to time, periodically or otherwise, in such number of Shares or percentage of Shares as the Committee determines.

 

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5.4. Exercise Price. The Exercise Price of an Option will be determined by the Committee when the Option is granted; provided that: (a) the Exercise Price of an Option will be not less than eighty percent (80%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant and (b) the Exercise Price of any ISO granted to a Ten Percent Stockholder will not be less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant. Payment for the Shares purchased may be made in accordance with Section 11 and the Award Agreement and in accordance with any procedures established by the Company.

 

5.5. Method of Exercise. Any Option granted hereunder will be vested and exercisable according to the terms of the Plan and at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement. An Option may not be exercised for a fraction of a Share. An Option will be deemed exercised when the Company receives: (a) notice of exercise (in such form as the Committee may specify from time to time) from the person entitled to exercise the Option (and/or via electronic execution through the authorized third-party administrator), and (b) full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Option is exercised (together with applicable withholding taxes). Full payment may consist of any consideration and method of payment authorized by the Committee and permitted by the Award Agreement and the Plan. Shares issued upon exercise of an Option will be issued in the name of the Participant. Until the Shares are issued (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company), no right to vote or receive dividends or any other rights as a stockholder will exist with respect to the Shares, notwithstanding the exercise of the Option. The Company will issue (or cause to be issued) such Shares promptly after the Option is exercised. No adjustment will be made for a dividend or other right for which the record date is prior to the date the Shares are issued, except as provided in Section 2.6 of the Plan. Exercising an Option in any manner will decrease the number of Shares thereafter available, both for purposes of the Plan and for sale under the Option, by the number of Shares as to which the Option is exercised.

 

5.6. Termination of Service. If the Participant’s Service terminates for any reason except for Cause or the Participant’s death or Disability, then the Participant may exercise such Participant’s Options only to the extent that such Options would have been exercisable by the Participant on the date Participant’s Service terminates no later than three (3) months after the date Participant’s Service terminates (or such shorter time period not less than thirty (30) days or longer time period as may be determined by the Committee, with any exercise beyond three (3) months after the date Participant’s Service terminates deemed to be the exercise of an NSO), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.

 

(a) Death. If the Participant’s Service terminates because of the Participant’s death (or the Participant dies within three (3) months after Participant’s Service terminates other than for Cause or because of the Participant’s Disability), then the Participant’s Options may be exercised only to the extent that such Options would have been exercisable by the Participant on the date Participant’s Service terminates and must be exercised by the Participant’s legal representative, or authorized assignee, no later than twelve (12) months after the date Participant’s Service terminates (or such shorter time period not less than six (6) months or longer time period as may be determined by the Committee), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.

 

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(b) Disability. If the Participant’s Service terminates because of the Participant’s Disability, then the Participant’s Options may be exercised only to the extent that such Options would have been exercisable by the Participant on the date Participant’s Service terminates and must be exercised by the Participant (or the Participant’s legal representative or authorized assignee) no later than twelve (12) months after the date Participant’s Service terminates (or such shorter time period not less than six (6) months or longer time period as may be determined by the Committee, with any exercise beyond (a) three (3) months after the date Participant’s Service terminates when the termination of Service is for a Disability that is not a “permanent and total disability” as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, or (b) twelve (12) months after the date Participant’s Service terminates when the termination of Service is for a Disability that is a “permanent and total disability” as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, deemed to be exercise of an NSO), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.

 

(c) Cause. If the Participant is terminated for Cause, then Participant’s Options shall expire on such Participant’s date of termination of Service, or at such later time and on such conditions as are determined by the Committee, but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options. Unless otherwise provided in an employment agreement or Award Agreement, Cause shall have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

 

5.7. Limitations on Exercise. The Committee may specify a minimum number of Shares that may be purchased on any exercise of an Option, provided that such minimum number will not prevent any Participant from exercising the Option for the full number of Shares for which it is then exercisable.

 

5.8. Limitations on Stock Grants. With respect to Awards granted as Stock Grants, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value of the Shares with respect to which such Stock Grants are exercisable for the first time by the Participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any Parent or Subsidiary) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), such Options will be treated as NSOs. For purposes of this Section 5.8, Stock Grants will be taken into account in the order in which they were granted. The Fair Market Value of the Shares will be determined as of the time the Option with respect to such Shares is granted. In the event that the Code or the regulations promulgated thereunder are amended after the Effective Date to provide for a different limit on the Fair Market Value of Shares permitted to be subject to Stock Grants, such different limit will be automatically incorporated herein and will apply to any Options granted after the effective date of such amendment.

 

5.9. Modification, Extension or Renewal. The Committee may modify, extend or renew outstanding Options and authorize the grant of new Options in substitution therefor, provided that any such action may not, without the written consent of a Participant, impair any of such Participant’s rights under any Option previously granted. Any outstanding ISO that is modified, extended, renewed or otherwise altered will be treated in accordance with Section 424(h) of the Code. Subject to Section 18 of this Plan, by written notice to affected Participants, the Committee may reduce the Exercise Price of outstanding Options without the consent of such Participants; provided, however, that the Exercise Price may not be reduced below the Fair Market Value on the date the action is taken to reduce the Exercise Price.

 

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5.10. No Disqualification. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan, no term of this Plan relating to Stock Grants will be interpreted, amended or altered, nor will any discretion or authority granted under this Plan be exercised, so as to disqualify this Plan under Section 422 of the Code or, without the consent of the Participant affected, to disqualify any ISO under Section 422 of the Code.

 

6. RESTRICTED STOCK AWARDS. A Restricted Stock Award is an offer by the Company to sell to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director Shares that are subject to restrictions (“Restricted Stock”). The Committee will determine to whom an offer will be made, the number of Shares the Participant may purchase, the Purchase Price, the restrictions under which the Shares will be subject and all other terms and conditions of the Restricted Stock Award, subject to the Plan.

 

6.1. Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement. All purchases under a Restricted Stock Award will be evidenced by an Award Agreement. Except as may otherwise be provided in an Award Agreement, a Participant accepts a Restricted Stock Award by signing and delivering to the Company an Award Agreement with full payment of the Purchase Price, within thirty (30) days from the date the Award Agreement was delivered to the Participant. If the Participant does not accept such Award within thirty (30) days, then the offer of such Restricted Stock Award will terminate, unless the Committee determines otherwise.

 

6.2. Purchase Price. The Purchase Price for a Restricted Stock Award will be determined by the Committee and may be less than Fair Market Value on the date the Restricted Stock Award is granted. Payment of the Purchase Price must be made in accordance with Section 11 of the Plan, and the Award Agreement and in accordance with any procedures established by the Company.

 

6.3. Terms of Restricted Stock Awards. Restricted Stock Awards will be subject to such restrictions as the Committee may impose or are required by law. These restrictions may be based on completion of a specified number of years of service with the Company or upon completion of Performance Factors, if any, during any Performance Period as set out in advance in the Participant’s Award Agreement. Prior to the grant of a Restricted Stock Award, the Committee shall: (a) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for the Restricted Stock Award; (b) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure performance goals, if any; and (c) determine the number of Shares that may be awarded to the Participant. Performance Periods may overlap and a Participant may participate simultaneously with respect to Restricted Stock Awards that are subject to different Performance Periods and having different performance goals and other criteria.

 

6.4. Termination of Service. Except as may be set forth in the Participant’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on such date Participant’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee).

 

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7. STOCK BONUS AWARDS. A Stock Bonus Award is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director of Shares for Services to be rendered or for past Services already rendered to the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate. All Stock Bonus Awards shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement. No payment from the Participant will be required for Shares awarded pursuant to a Stock Bonus Award.

 

7.1. Terms of Stock Bonus Awards. The Committee will determine the number of Shares to be awarded to the Participant under a Stock Bonus Award and any restrictions thereon. These restrictions may be based upon completion of a specified number of years of service with the Company or upon satisfaction of performance goals based on Performance Factors during any Performance Period as set out in advance in the Participant’s Stock Bonus Agreement. Prior to the grant of any Stock Bonus Award the Committee shall: (a) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for the Stock Bonus Award; (b) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure performance goals; and (c) determine the number of Shares that may be awarded to the Participant. Performance Periods may overlap and a Participant may participate simultaneously with respect to Stock Bonus Awards that are subject to different Performance Periods and different performance goals and other criteria.

 

7.2. Form of Payment to Participant. Payment may be made in the form of cash, whole Shares, or a combination thereof, based on the Fair Market Value of the Shares earned under a Stock Bonus Award on the date of payment, as determined in the sole discretion of the Committee.

 

7.3. Termination of Service. Except as may be set forth in the Participant’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on such date Participant’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee).

 

8. STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS. A Stock Appreciation Right (“SAR”) is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director that may be settled in cash, or Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock), having a value equal to (a) the difference between the Fair Market Value on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price multiplied by (b) the number of Shares with respect to which the SAR is being settled (subject to any maximum number of Shares that may be issuable as specified in an Award Agreement). All SARs shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.

 

8.1. Terms of SARs. The Committee will determine the terms of each SAR including, without limitation: (a) the number of Shares subject to the SAR; (b) the Exercise Price and the time or times during which the SAR may be settled; (c) the consideration to be distributed on settlement of the SAR; and (d) the effect of the Participant’s termination of Service on each SAR. The Exercise Price of the SAR will be determined by the Committee when the SAR is granted and may not be less than Fair Market Value. A SAR may be awarded upon satisfaction of Performance Factors, if any, during any Performance Period as are set out in advance in the Participant’s individual Award Agreement. If the SAR is being earned upon the satisfaction of Performance Factors, then the Committee will: (x) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for each SAR; and (y) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure the performance, if any. Performance Periods may overlap and Participants may participate simultaneously with respect to SARs that are subject to different Performance Factors and other criteria.

 

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8.2. Exercise Period and Expiration Date. A SAR will be exercisable within the times or upon the occurrence of events determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement governing such SAR. The SAR Agreement shall set forth the expiration date; provided that no SAR will be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date the SAR is granted. The Committee may also provide for SARs to become exercisable at one time or from time to time, periodically or otherwise (including, without limitation, upon the attainment during a Performance Period of performance goals based on Performance Factors), in such number of Shares or percentage of the Shares subject to the SAR as the Committee determines. Except as may be set forth in the Participant’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on the date Participant’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the rules of Section 5.6 also will apply to SARs.

 

8.3. Form of Settlement. Upon exercise of a SAR, a Participant will be entitled to receive payment from the Company in an amount determined by multiplying (a) the difference between the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price; times (b) the number of Shares with respect to which the SAR is exercised. At the discretion of the Committee, the payment from the Company for the SAR exercise may be in cash, in Shares of equivalent value, or in some combination thereof. The portion of a SAR being settled may be paid currently or on a deferred basis with such interest or dividend equivalent, if any, as the Committee determines, provided that the terms of the SAR and any deferral satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

 

8.4. Termination of Service. Except as may be set forth in the Participant’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on such date Participant’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee).

 

9. RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS. A Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director covering a number of Shares that may be settled in cash, or by issuance of those Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock). All RSUs shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.

 

9.1. Terms of RSUs. The Committee will determine the terms of an RSU including, without limitation: (a) the number of Shares subject to the RSU; (b) the time or times during which the RSU may be settled; (c) the consideration to be distributed on settlement; and (d) the effect of the Participant’s termination of Service on each RSU; provided that no RSU shall have a term longer than ten (10) years. An RSU may be awarded upon satisfaction of such performance goals based on Performance Factors during any Performance Period as are set out in advance in the Participant’s Award Agreement. If the RSU is being earned upon satisfaction of Performance Factors, then the Committee will: (x) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for the RSU; (y) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure the performance, if any; and (z) determine the number of Shares deemed subject to the RSU. Performance Periods may overlap and participants may participate simultaneously with respect to RSUs that are subject to different Performance Periods and different performance goals and other criteria.

 

9.2. Form and Timing of Settlement. Payment of earned RSUs shall be made as soon as practicable after the date(s) determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement. The Committee, in its sole discretion, may settle earned RSUs in cash, Shares, or a combination of both. The Committee may also permit a Participant to defer payment under a RSU to a date or dates after the RSU is earned provided that the terms of the RSU and any deferral satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

 

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9.3. Termination of Service. Except as may be set forth in the Participant’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on such date Participant’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee).

 

10. PERFORMANCE AWARDS. A Performance Award is an award to an eligible Employee, Consultant, or Director of a cash bonus or an award of Performance Shares or Performance Units denominated in Shares that may be settled in cash, or by issuance of those Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock). Grants of Performance Awards shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.

 

10.1. Types of Performance Awards. Performance Awards shall include Performance Shares, Performance Units, and cash-based Awards as set forth in Sections 10.1(a), 10.1(b), and 10.1(c) below.

 

(a) Performance Shares. The Committee may grant Awards of Performance Shares, designate the Participants to whom Performance Shares are to be awarded and determine the number of Performance Shares and the terms and conditions of each such Award. Performance Shares shall consist of a unit valued by reference to a designated number of Shares, the value of which may be paid to the Participant by delivery of Shares or, if set forth in the instrument evidencing the Award, of such property as the Committee shall determine, including, without limitation, cash, Shares, other property, or any combination thereof, upon the attainment of performance goals, as established by the Committee, and other terms and conditions specified by the Committee. The amount to be paid under an Award of Performance Shares may be adjusted on the basis of such further consideration as the Committee shall determine in its sole discretion.

 

(b) Performance Units. The Committee may grant Awards of Performance Units, designate the Participants to whom Performance Units are to be awarded and determine the number of Performance Units and the terms and conditions of each such Award. Performance Units shall consist of a unit valued by reference to a designated amount of property other than Shares, which value may be paid to the Participant by delivery of such property as the Committee shall determine, including, without limitation, cash, Shares, other property, or any combination thereof, upon the attainment of performance goals, as established by the Committee, and other terms and conditions specified by the Committee.

 

(c) Cash-Settled Performance Awards. The Committee may also grant cash-settled Performance Awards to Participants under the terms of this Plan. Such awards will be based on the attainment of performance goals using the Performance Factors within this Plan that are established by the Committee for the relevant performance period.

 

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10.2. Terms of Performance Awards. The Committee will determine, and each Award Agreement shall set forth, the terms of each Performance Award including, without limitation: (a) the amount of any cash bonus, (b) the number of Shares deemed subject to an award of Performance Shares; (c) the Performance Factors and Performance Period that shall determine the time and extent to which each award of Performance Shares shall be settled; (d) the consideration to be distributed on settlement, and (e) the effect of the Participant’s termination of Service on each Performance Award. In establishing Performance Factors and the Performance Period the Committee will: (x) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period; (y) select from among the Performance Factors to be used; and (z) determine the number of Shares deemed subject to the award of Performance Shares. Each Performance Share will have an initial value equal to the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant. Prior to settlement the Committee shall determine the extent to which Performance Awards have been earned. Performance Periods may overlap and Participants may participate simultaneously with respect to Performance Awards that are subject to different Performance Periods and different performance goals and other criteria. No Participant will be eligible to receive more than Five Hundred Thousand ($500,000) in Performance Awards in any calendar year under this Plan.

 

10.3. Termination of Service. Except as may be set forth in the Participant’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on the date Participant’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee).

 

11. PAYMENT FOR SHARE PURCHASES. Payment from a Participant for Shares purchased pursuant to this Plan may be made in cash or by check or, where expressly approved for the Participant by the Committee and where permitted by law (and to the extent not otherwise set forth in the applicable Award Agreement):

 

(a) by cancellation of indebtedness of the Company to the Participant;

 

(b) by surrender of Shares held by the Participant that have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Shares as to which said Award will be exercised or settled;

 

(c) by waiver of compensation due or accrued to the Participant for services rendered or to be rendered to the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary;

 

(d) by consideration received by the Company pursuant to a broker-assisted or other form of cashless exercise program implemented by the Company in connection with the Plan;

 

(e) by any combination of the foregoing; or

 

(f) by any other method of payment as is permitted by applicable law.

 

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12. GRANTS TO NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS. Non-Employee Directors are eligible to receive any type of Award offered under this Plan except Stock Grants. Awards pursuant to this Section 12 may be automatically made pursuant to policy adopted by the Board, or made from time to time as determined in the discretion of the Board. The aggregate number of Shares subject to Awards granted to a Non-Employee Director pursuant to this Section 12 in any calendar year shall not exceed Two Million (2,000,000) Shares.

 

12.1. Eligibility. Awards pursuant to this Section 12 shall be granted only to Non-Employee Directors. A Non-Employee Director who is elected or re-elected as a member of the Board will be eligible to receive an Award under this Section 12.

 

12.2. Vesting, Exercisability and Settlement. Except as set forth in Section 21, Awards shall vest, become exercisable and be settled as determined by the Board. With respect to Options and SARs, the exercise price granted to Non-Employee Directors shall not be less than the Fair Market Value of the Shares at the time that such Option or SAR is granted.

 

12.3. Election to receive Awards in Lieu of Cash. A Non-Employee Director may elect to receive his or her annual retainer payments and/or meeting fees from the Company in the form of cash or Awards or a combination thereof, as determined by the Committee. Such Awards shall be issued under the Plan. An election under this Section 12.3 shall be filed with the Company on the form prescribed by the Company.

 

13. WITHHOLDING TAXES.

 

13.1. Withholding Generally. Whenever Shares are to be issued in satisfaction of Awards granted under this Plan or a tax event occurs, the Company may require the Participant to remit to the Company, or to the Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate employing the Participant, as applicable, an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable U.S. federal, state, local and international withholding tax requirements or any other tax or social insurance liability legally due from the Participant prior to the delivery of Shares pursuant to exercise or settlement of any Award. Whenever payments in satisfaction of Awards granted under this Plan are to be made in cash, such payment will be net of an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable U.S. federal, state, local and international withholding tax or social insurance requirements or any other tax liability legally due from the Participant. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, the Fair Market Value of the Shares will be determined as of the date that the taxes are required to be withheld and such Shares will be valued based on the value of the actual trade or, if there is none, the Fair Market Value of the Shares as of the previous trading day.

 

13.2. Stock Withholding. The Committee, or its delegate(s), as permitted by applicable law, in its sole discretion and pursuant to such procedures as it may specify from time to time and to limitations of local law, may require or permit a Participant to satisfy such tax withholding obligation or any other tax liability legally due from the Participant, in whole or in part by (without limitation) (a) paying cash, (b) electing to have the Company withhold otherwise deliverable cash or Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum statutory amount required to be withheld, (c) delivering to the Company already-owned Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum amount required to be withheld or (d) withholding from the proceeds of the sale of otherwise deliverable Shares acquired pursuant to an Award either through a voluntary sale or through a mandatory sale arranged by the Company for the minimum amount required to be withheld.

 

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14. TRANSFERABILITY.

 

14.1. Transfer Generally. Unless determined otherwise by the Committee or pursuant to Section 14.2, an Award may not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred, or disposed of in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent or distribution. If the Committee makes an Award transferable, including, without limitation, by instrument to an inter vivos or testamentary trust in which the Awards are to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor) or by gift or by domestic relations order to a Permitted Transferee, such Award will contain such additional terms and conditions as the Committee deems appropriate. All Awards shall be exercisable: (a) during the Participant’s lifetime only by (i) the Participant, or (ii) the Participant’s guardian or legal representative; (b) after the Participant’s death, by the legal representative of the Participant’s heirs or legatees; and (c) in the case of all awards except Stock Grants, by a Permitted Transferee.

 

14.2. Award Transfer Program. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Plan, the Committee shall have all discretion and authority to determine and implement the terms and conditions of any Award Transfer Program instituted pursuant to this Section 14.2 and shall have the authority to amend the terms of any Award participating, or otherwise eligible to participate in, the Award Transfer Program, including (but not limited to) the authority to (a) amend (including to extend) the expiration date, post-termination exercise period and/or forfeiture conditions of any such Award, (b) amend or remove any provisions of the Award relating to the Award holder’s continued Service to the Company or its Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate, (c) amend the permissible payment methods with respect to the exercise or purchase of any such Award,

(d) amend the adjustments to be implemented in the event of changes in the capitalization and other similar events with respect to such Award, and (e) make such other changes to the terms of such Award as the Committee deems necessary or appropriate in its sole discretion.

 

15. PRIVILEGES OF STOCK OWNERSHIP; RESTRICTIONS ON SHARES.

 

15.1. Voting and Dividends. No Participant will have any of the rights of a stockholder with respect to any Shares until the Shares are issued to the Participant, except for any Dividend Equivalent Rights permitted by an applicable Award Agreement. Any Dividend Equivalent Rights shall be subject to the same vesting or performance conditions as the underlying Award. In addition, the Committee may provide that any Dividend Equivalent Rights permitted by an applicable Award Agreement shall be deemed to have been reinvested in additional Shares or otherwise reinvested. After Shares are issued to the Participant, the Participant will be a stockholder and have all the rights of a stockholder with respect to such Shares, including the right to vote and receive all dividends or other distributions made or paid with respect to such Shares; provided, that if such Shares are Restricted Stock, then any new, additional or different securities the Participant may become entitled to receive with respect to such Shares by virtue of a stock dividend, stock split or any other change in the corporate or capital structure of the Company will be subject to the same restrictions as the Restricted Stock; provided, further, that the Participant will have no right to retain such stock dividends or stock distributions with respect to Shares that are repurchased at the Participant’s Purchase Price or Exercise Price, as the case may be, pursuant to Section 15.2. The Committee, in its discretion, may provide in the Award Agreement evidencing any Award that the Participant shall be entitled to Dividend Equivalent Rights with respect to the payment of cash dividends on Shares underlying an Award during the period beginning on the date the Award is granted and ending, with respect to each Share subject to the Award, on the earlier of the date on which the Award is exercised or settled or the date on which it is forfeited. Such Dividend Equivalent Rights, if any, shall be credited to the Participant in the form of additional whole Shares as of the date of payment of such cash dividends on Shares.

 

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15.2. Restrictions on Shares. At the discretion of the Committee, the Company may reserve to itself and/or its assignee(s) a right to repurchase (a “Right of Repurchase”) a portion of any or all Unvested Shares held by a Participant following such Participant’s termination of Service at any time within ninety (90) days (or such longer or shorter time determined by the Committee) after the later of the date Participant’s Service terminates and the date the Participant purchases Shares under this Plan, for cash and/or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness, at the Participant’s Purchase Price or Exercise Price, as the case may be.

 

16. CERTIFICATES. All Shares or other securities whether or not certificated, delivered under this Plan will be subject to such stock transfer orders, legends and other restrictions as the Committee may deem necessary or advisable, including restrictions under any applicable U.S. federal, state or foreign securities law, or any rules, regulations and other requirements of the SEC or any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Shares may be listed or quoted and any non-U.S. exchange controls or securities law restrictions to which the Shares are subject.

 

17. ESCROW; PLEDGE OF SHARES. To enforce any restrictions on a Participant’s Shares, the Committee may require the Participant to deposit all certificates representing Shares, together with stock powers or other instruments of transfer approved by the Committee, appropriately endorsed in blank, with the Company or an agent designated by the Company to hold in escrow until such restrictions have lapsed or terminated, and the Committee may cause a legend or legends referencing such restrictions to be placed on the certificates. Any Participant who is permitted to execute a promissory note as partial or full consideration for the purchase of Shares under this Plan will be required to pledge and deposit with the Company all or part of the Shares so purchased as collateral to secure the payment of the Participant’s obligation to the Company under the promissory note; provided, however, that the Committee may require or accept other or additional forms of collateral to secure the payment of such obligation and, in any event, the Company will have full recourse against the Participant under the promissory note notwithstanding any pledge of the Participant’s Shares or other collateral. In connection with any pledge of the Shares, the Participant will be required to execute and deliver a written pledge agreement in such form as the Committee will from time to time approve. The Shares purchased with the promissory note may be released from the pledge on a pro rata basis as the promissory note is paid.

 

18. REPRICING; EXCHANGE AND BUYOUT OF AWARDS. Without prior stockholder approval the Committee may (a) reprice Options or SARs (and where such repricing is a reduction in the Exercise Price of outstanding Options or SARs, the consent of the affected Participants is not required provided written notice is provided to them, notwithstanding any adverse tax consequences to them arising from the repricing), and (b) with the consent of the respective Participants (unless not required pursuant to Section 5.9 of the Plan), pay cash or issue new Awards in exchange for the surrender and cancellation of any, or all, outstanding Awards.

 

19. SECURITIES LAW AND OTHER REGULATORY COMPLIANCE. An Award will not be effective unless such Award is in compliance with all applicable U.S. and foreign federal and state securities and exchange control laws, rules and regulations of any governmental body, and the requirements of any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Shares may then be listed or quoted, as they are in effect on the date of grant of the Award and also on the date of exercise or other issuance. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan, the Company will have no obligation to issue or deliver certificates for Shares under this Plan prior to: (a) obtaining any approvals from governmental agencies that the Company determines are necessary or advisable; and/or (b) completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares under any state or federal or foreign law or ruling of any governmental body that the Company determines to be necessary or advisable. The Company will be under no obligation to register the Shares with the SEC or to effect compliance with the registration, qualification or listing requirements of any foreign or state securities laws, exchange control laws, stock exchange or automated quotation system, and the Company will have no liability for any inability or failure to do so.

 

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20. NO OBLIGATION TO EMPLOY. Nothing in this Plan or any Award granted under this Plan will confer or be deemed to confer on any Participant any right to continue in the employ of, or to continue any other relationship with, the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate or limit in any way the right of the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate to terminate Participant’s employment or other relationship at any time.

 

21. CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS.

 

21.1. Assumption or Replacement of Awards by Successor. In the event that the Company is subject to a Corporate Transaction, outstanding Awards acquired under the Plan shall be subject to the agreement evidencing the Corporate Transaction, which need not treat all outstanding Awards in an identical manner. Such agreement, without the Participant’s consent, may provide for one or more of the following with respect to all outstanding Awards as of the effective date of such Corporate Transaction:

 

(a) The continuation of an outstanding Award by the Company (if the Company is the successor entity).

 

(b) The assumption of an outstanding Award by the successor or acquiring entity (if any) of such Corporate Transaction (or by its parents, if any), which assumption, will be binding on all selected Participants; provided that the exercise price and the number and nature of shares issuable upon exercise of any such option or stock appreciation right, or any award that is subject to Section 409A of the Code, will be adjusted appropriately pursuant to Section 424(a) of the Code and/or Section 409A of the Code, as applicable.

 

(c) The substitution by the successor or acquiring entity in such Corporate Transaction (or by its parents, if any) of equivalent awards with substantially the same terms for such outstanding Awards (except that the exercise price and the number and nature of shares issuable upon exercise of any such option or stock appreciation right, or any award that is subject to Section 409A of the Code, will be adjusted appropriately pursuant to Section 424(a) of the Code and/or Section 409A of the Code, as applicable).

 

(d) The full or partial acceleration of exercisability or vesting and accelerated expiration of an outstanding Award and lapse of the Company’s right to repurchase or re-acquire shares acquired under an Award or lapse of forfeiture rights with respect to shares acquired under an Award.

 

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(e) The settlement of the full value of such outstanding Award (whether or not then vested or exercisable) in cash, cash equivalents, or securities of the successor entity (or its parent, if any) with a Fair Market Value equal to the required amount, followed by the cancellation of such Awards; provided however, that such Award may be cancelled if such Award has no value, as determined by the Committee, in its discretion. Subject to Section 409A of the Code, such payment may be made in installments and may be deferred until the date or dates the Award would have become exercisable or vested. Such payment may be subject to vesting based on the Participant’s continued service, provided that the vesting schedule shall not be less favorable to the Participant than the schedule under which the Award would have become vested or exercisable. For purposes of this Section 21.1(e), the Fair Market Value of any security shall be determined without regard to any vesting conditions that may apply to such security.

 

(f) The cancellation of outstanding Awards in exchange for no consideration.

 

The Board shall have full power and authority to assign the Company’s right to repurchase or re-acquire or forfeiture rights to such successor or acquiring corporation. In the event a successor or acquiring corporation (if any) refuses to assume, convert, replace or substitute Awards, as provided above, pursuant to a Corporate Transaction, then notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan to the contrary, such Awards shall have their vesting accelerate as to all shares subject to such Awards (and any applicable right of repurchase fully lapse) immediately prior to the Corporate Transaction. In addition, in the event such successor or acquiring corporation (if any) refuses to assume, convert, replace or substitute Awards, as provided above, pursuant to a Corporate Transaction, the Committee will notify the Participant in writing or electronically that such Award will be exercisable for a period of time determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, and such Award will terminate upon the expiration of such period. Awards need not be treated similarly in a Corporate Transaction.

 

21.2. Assumption of Awards by the Company. The Company, from time to time, also may substitute or assume outstanding awards granted by another company, whether in connection with an acquisition of such other company or otherwise, by either; (a) granting an Award under this Plan in substitution of such other company’s award; or (b) assuming such award as if it had been granted under this Plan if the terms of such assumed award could be applied to an Award granted under this Plan. Such substitution or assumption will be permissible if the holder of the substituted or assumed award would have been eligible to be granted an Award under this Plan if the other company had applied the rules of this Plan to such grant. In the event the Company assumes an award granted by another company, the terms and conditions of such award will remain unchanged (except that the Purchase Price or the Exercise Price, as the case may be, and the number and nature of Shares issuable upon exercise or settlement of any such Award will be adjusted appropriately pursuant to Section 424(a) of the Code). In the event the Company elects to grant a new Option in substitution rather than assuming an existing option, such new Option may be granted with a similarly adjusted Exercise Price. Substitute Awards shall not reduce the number of Shares authorized for grant under the Plan or authorized for grant to a Participant in a calendar year.

 

21.3. Non-Employee Directors’ Awards. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary herein, in the event of a Corporate Transaction, the vesting of all Awards granted to Non-Employee Directors shall accelerate and such Awards shall become exercisable (as applicable) in full prior to the consummation of such event at such times and on such conditions as the Committee determines.

 

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22. ADOPTION AND STOCKHOLDER APPROVAL. This Plan shall be submitted for the approval of the Company’s stockholders, consistent with applicable laws, within twelve

(12) months before or after the date this Plan is adopted by the Board.

 

23. TERM OF PLAN/GOVERNING LAW. Unless earlier terminated as provided herein, this Plan will become effective on the Effective Date and will terminate ten (10) years from the date this Plan is adopted by the Board. This Plan and all Awards granted hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wyoming (excluding its conflict of law rules).

 

24. AMENDMENT OR TERMINATION OF PLAN. The Board may at any time terminate or amend this Plan in any respect, including, without limitation, amendment of any form of Award Agreement or instrument to be executed pursuant to this Plan; provided, however, that the Board will not, without the approval of the stockholders of the Company, amend this Plan in any manner that requires such stockholder approval; provided further, that a Participant’s Award shall be governed by the version of this Plan then in effect at the time such Award was granted. No termination or amendment of the Plan shall affect any then-outstanding Award unless expressly provided by the Committee. In any event, no termination or amendment of the Plan or any outstanding Award may adversely affect any then outstanding Award without the consent of the Participant, unless such termination or amendment is necessary to comply with applicable law, regulation or rule.

 

25. NONEXCLUSIVITY OF THE PLAN. Neither the adoption of this Plan by the Board, the submission of this Plan to the stockholders of the Company for approval, nor any provision of this Plan will be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board to adopt such additional compensation arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the granting of stock awards and bonuses otherwise than under this Plan, and such arrangements may be either generally applicable or applicable only in specific cases.

 

26. INSIDER TRADING POLICY. Each Participant who receives an Award shall comply with any policy adopted by the Company from time to time covering transactions in the Company’s securities by Employees, officers and/or directors of the Company.

 

27. ALL AWARDS SUBJECT TO COMPANY CLAWBACK OR RECOUPMENT POLICY. All Awards, subject to applicable law, shall be subject to clawback or recoupment pursuant to any compensation clawback or recoupment policy adopted by the Board or required by law during the term of Participant’s employment or other service with the Company that is applicable to executive officers, employees, directors or other service providers of the Company, and in addition to any other remedies available under such policy and applicable law, may require the cancellation of outstanding Awards and the recoupment of any gains realized with respect to Awards.

 

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28. DEFINITIONS. As used in this Plan, and except as elsewhere defined herein, the following terms will have the following meanings:

 

28.1. Affiliate” means (i) any entity that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by, controls or is under common control with, the Company and (ii) any entity in which the Company has a significant equity interest, in either case as determined by the Committee, whether now or hereafter existing.

 

28.2. Award” means any award under the Plan, including any Option, Restricted Stock, Stock Bonus, Stock Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock Unit or award of Performance Shares.

 

28.3. Award Agreement” means, with respect to each Award, the written or electronic agreement between the Company and the Participant setting forth the terms and conditions of the Award, and country-specific appendix thereto for grants to non-U.S. Participants, which shall be in substantially a form (which need not be the same for each Participant) that the Committee (or in the case of Award agreements that are not used for Insiders, the Committee’s delegate(s)) has from time to time approved, and will comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan.

 

28.4. Award Transfer Program” means any program instituted by the Committee which would permit Participants the opportunity to transfer any outstanding Awards to a financial institution or other person or entity approved by the Committee.

 

28.5. Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

28.6. Cause” means Termination because of (a) Participant’s unauthorized misuse of the Company’s trade secrets or proprietary information, (b) Participant’s conviction of or plea of nolo contendere to a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, (c) Participant’s committing an act of fraud against the Company or (d) Participant’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of his or her duties that has had or will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s reputation or business. The determination as to whether a Participant is being terminated for Cause shall be made in good faith by the Company and shall be final and binding on the Participant. The foregoing definition does not in any way limit the Company’s ability to terminate a Participant’s employment or consulting relationship at any time as provided in Section 20 above, and the term “Company” will be interpreted to include any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate, as appropriate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the foregoing definition of “Cause” may, in part or in whole, be modified or replaced in each individual employment agreement or Award Agreement with any Participant, provided that such document supersedes the definition provided in this Section 28.6.

 

28.7. Code” means the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

28.8. Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board or those persons to whom administration of the Plan, or part of the Plan, has been delegated as permitted by law.

 

28.9. Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.

 

28.10. Company” means Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Inc. or any successor corporation.

 

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28.11. Consultant” means any natural person, including an advisor or independent contractor, engaged by the Company or a Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate to render services to such entity.

 

28.12. Corporate Transaction” means the occurrence of any of the following events: (a) any “Person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the Company’s then-outstanding voting securities; provided, however, that for purposes of this subclause (a) the acquisition of additional securities by any one Person who is considered to own more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the securities of the Company will not be considered a Corporate Transaction; (b) the consummation of the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets; (c) the consummation of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or its parent) at least fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity or its parent outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation; (d) any other transaction which qualifies as a “corporate transaction” under Section 424(a) of the Code wherein the stockholders of the Company give up all of their equity interest in the Company (except for the acquisition, sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the outstanding shares of the Company) or (e) a change in the effective control of the Company that occurs on the date that a majority of members of the Board is replaced during any twelve (12) month period by members of the Board whose appointment or election is not endorsed by a majority of the members of the Board prior to the date of the appointment or election. For purpose of this subclause (e), if any Person is considered to be in effective control of the Company, the acquisition of additional control of the Company by the same Person will not be considered a Corporate Transaction. For purposes of this definition, Persons will be considered to be acting as a group if they are owners of a corporation that enters into a merger, consolidation, purchase or acquisition of stock, or similar business transaction with the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that any amount constituting deferred compensation (as defined in Section 409A of the Code) would become payable under this Plan by reason of a Corporate Transaction, such amount shall become payable only if the event constituting a Corporate Transaction would also qualify as a change in ownership or effective control of the Company or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of the Company, each as defined within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as it has been and may be amended from time to time, and any proposed or final Treasury Regulations and IRS guidance that has been promulgated or may be promulgated thereunder from time to time.

 

28.13. Director” means a member of the Board.

 

28.14. Disability” means in the case of incentive stock options, total and permanent disability as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code and in the case of other Awards, that the Participant is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.

 

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28.15. Dividend Equivalent Right” means the right of a Participant, granted at the discretion of the Committee or as otherwise provided by the Plan, to receive a credit for the account of such Participant in an amount equal to the cash, stock or other property dividends in amounts equal equivalent to cash, stock or other property dividends for each Share represented by an Award held by such Participant.

 

28.16. Effective Date” means the day immediately prior to the date of the underwritten initial public offering of the Company’s Common Stock pursuant to a registration statement that is declared effective by the SEC.

 

28.17. Employee” means any person, including Officers and Directors, providing services as an employee to the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate. Neither service as a Director nor payment of a director’s fee by the Company will be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company.

 

28.18. Exchange Act” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

28.19. Exchange Program” means a program pursuant to which (a) outstanding Awards are surrendered, cancelled or exchanged for cash, the same type of Award or a different Award (or combination thereof) or (b) the exercise price of an outstanding Award is increased or reduced.

 

28.20. Exercise Price” means, with respect to an Option, the price at which a holder may purchase the Shares issuable upon exercise of an Option and with respect to a SAR, the price at which the SAR is granted to the holder thereof.

 

28.21. Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of a share of the Company’s Common Stock determined as follows:

 

(a) if such Common Stock is publicly traded and is then listed on a national securities exchange, its closing price on the date of determination on the principal national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed or admitted to trading as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable;

 

(b) if such Common Stock is publicly traded but is neither listed nor admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on the date of determination as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable;

 

(c) in the case of an Option or SAR grant made on the Effective Date, the price per share at which shares of the Company’s Common Stock are initially offered for sale to the public by the Company’s underwriters in the initial public offering of the Company’s Common Stock pursuant to a registration statement filed with the SEC under the Securities Act; or

 

(d) if none of the foregoing is applicable, by the Board or the Committee in good faith.

 

28.22. Insider” means an officer or director of the Company or any other person whose transactions in the Company’s Common Stock are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

 

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28.23. IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

 

28.24. Non-Employee Director” means a Director who is not an Employee of the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate.

 

28.25. Option” means an award of an option to purchase Shares pursuant to Section 5.

 

28.26. Parent” means any corporation (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain of corporations ending with the Company if each of such corporations other than the Company owns 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.

 

28.27. Participant” means a person who holds an Award under this Plan.

 

28.28. Performance Awardmeans cash or Shares granted pursuant to Section 10 or Section 12 of the Plan.

 

28.29. “Performance Factors” means any of the factors selected by the Committee and specified in an Award Agreement, from among the following objective measures, either individually, alternatively or in any combination, applied to the Company as a whole or any business unit or Subsidiary, either individually, alternatively, or in any combination, on a GAAP or non-GAAP basis, and measured, to the extent applicable on an absolute basis or relative to a pre-established target, to determine whether the performance goals established by the Committee with respect to applicable Awards have been satisfied:

 

(a) Profit Before Tax;

 

(b) Billings;

 

(c) Revenue;

 

(d) Net revenue;

 

(e) Earnings (which may include earnings before interest and taxes, earnings before taxes, net earnings, stock-based compensation expenses, depreciation and amortization);

 

(f) Operating income;

 

(g) Operating margin;

 

(h) Operating profit;

 

(i) Controllable operating profit, or net operating profit;

 

(j) Net Profit;

 

(k) Gross margin;

 

(l) Operating expenses or operating expenses as a percentage of revenue;

 

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(m) Net income;

 

(n) Earnings per share;

 

(o) Total stockholder return;

 

(p) Market share;

 

(q) Return on assets or net assets;

 

(r) The Company’s stock price;

 

(s) Growth in stockholder value relative to a pre-determined index;

 

(t) Return on equity;

 

(u) Return on invested capital;

 

(v) Cash Flow (including free cash flow or operating cash flows)

 

(w) Cash conversion cycle;

 

(x) Economic value added;

 

(y) Individual confidential business objectives;

 

(z) Contract awards or backlog;

 

(aa) Overhead or other expense reduction;

 

(bb) Credit rating;

 

(cc) Strategic plan development and implementation;

 

(dd) Succession plan development and implementation;

 

(ee) Improvement in workforce diversity;

 

(ff) Customer indicators and/or satisfaction;

 

(gg) New product invention or innovation;

 

(hh) Attainment of research and development milestones;

 

(ii) Improvements in productivity; (jj) Bookings;

 

(kk) Attainment of objective operating goals and employee metrics;

 

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(ll) Sales;

 

(mm) Expenses;

 

(nn) Balance of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities;

 

(oo) Completion of an identified special project;

 

(pp) Completion of a joint venture or other corporate transaction;

 

(qq) Employee satisfaction and/or retention;

 

(rr) Research and development expenses;

 

(ss) Working capital targets and changes in working capital; and

 

(tt) (Any other metric that is capable of measurement as determined by the Committee.

 

The Committee may, in recognition of unusual or non-recurring items such as acquisition- related activities or changes in applicable accounting rules, provide for one or more equitable adjustments (based on objective standards) to the Performance Factors to preserve the Committee’s original intent regarding the Performance Factors at the time of the initial award grant. It is within the sole discretion of the Committee to make or not make any such equitable adjustments.

 

28.30. Performance Period” means one or more periods of time, which may be of varying and overlapping durations, as the Committee may select, over which the attainment of one or more Performance Factors will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to, and the payment of, a Performance Award.

 

28.31. Performance Share” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 10 or Section 12 of the Plan, the payment of which is contingent upon achieving certain performance goals established by the Committee.

 

28.32. Performance Unit” means a right granted to a Participant pursuant to Section 10 or Section 12, to receive Shares, the payment of which is contingent upon achieving certain performance goals established by the Committee.

 

28.33. Permitted Transferee” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in- law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law (including adoptive relationships) of the Employee, any person sharing the Employee’s household (other than a tenant or employee), a trust in which these persons (or the Employee) have more than 50% of the beneficial interest, a foundation in which these persons (or the Employee) control the management of assets, and any other entity in which these persons (or the Employee) own more than 50% of the voting interests.

 

28.34. Plan” means this Deep Green Waste & Recycling, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

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28.35. Purchase Price” means the price to be paid for Shares acquired under the Plan, other than Shares acquired upon exercise of an Option or SAR.

 

28.36. Restricted Stock Award” means an award of Shares pursuant to Section 6 or Section 12 of the Plan, or issued pursuant to the early exercise of an Option.

 

28.37. Restricted Stock Unit” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 9 or Section 12 of the Plan.

 

28.38. SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

28.39. Securities Act” means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

28.40. Service” shall mean service as an Employee, Consultant, Director or Non-Employee Director, to the Company or a Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate, subject to such further limitations as may be set forth in the Plan or the applicable Award Agreement. An Employee will not be deemed to have ceased to provide Service in the case of (a) sick leave, (b) military leave, or (c) any other leave of absence approved by the Company; provided, that such leave is for a period of not more than 90 days unless reemployment upon the expiration of such leave is guaranteed by contract or statute. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an Employee will not be deemed to have ceased to provide Service if a formal policy adopted from time to time by the Company and issued and promulgated to employees in writing provides otherwise. In the case of any Employee on an approved leave of absence or a reduction in hours worked (for illustrative purposes only, a change in schedule from that of full-time to part-time), the Committee may make such provisions respecting suspension or modification of vesting of the Award while on leave from the employ of the Company or a Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate or during such change in working hours as it may deem appropriate, except that in no event may an Award be exercised after the expiration of the term set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. In the event of military or other protected leave, if required by applicable laws, vesting shall continue for the longest period that vesting continues under any other statutory or Company approved leave of absence and, upon a Participant’s returning from military leave, he or she shall be given vesting credit with respect to Awards to the same extent as would have applied had the Participant continued to provide Service to the Company throughout the leave on the same terms as he or she was providing Service immediately prior to such leave. An employee shall have terminated employment as of the date he or she ceases to provide Service (regardless of whether the termination is in breach of local employment laws or is later found to be invalid) and employment shall not be extended by any notice period or garden leave mandated by local law, provided however, that a change in status from an employee to a consultant or advisor shall not terminate the service provider’s Service, unless determined by the Committee, in its discretion. The Committee will have sole discretion to determine whether a Participant has ceased to provide Service and the effective date on which the Participant ceased to provide Service.

 

28.41. Shares” means shares of Common Stock and the common stock of any successor entity.

 

28.42. Stock Appreciation Right” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 8 or Section 12 of the Plan.

 

28.43. Stock Bonus” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 7 or Section 12 of the Plan.

 

28.44. Subsidiary” means any corporation (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain

of corporations beginning with the Company if each of the corporations other than the last corporation in the unbroken chain owns 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.

 

28.45. Treasury Regulations” means regulations promulgated by the United States Treasury Department.

 

28.46. Unvested Shares” means Shares that have not yet vested or are subject to a right of repurchase in favor of the Company (or any successor thereto).

 

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