Exhibit 4.3
MGP INGREDIENTS, INC.
NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS RESTRICTED STOCK PLAN
Introduction
1.1 The
Plan; Effective Date; Duration. This MGP Ingredients, Inc. Non-Employee
Directors Restricted Stock Plan (the Plan) shall be effective as of the date
of the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, if approved by stockholders at such
Annual Meeting. No award shall be made
under the Plan after October 31, 2016.
This Plan is intended to be exempt from the provisions of Section 409A
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, as a plan which provides for
the transfer of restricted property as described in Prop. Reg. §
1.409A-1(b)(6), and is to be construed in accordance with this intent.
1.2 Purpose. The purpose of the Plan is to provide each
non-employee member (Director) of the Board of Directors (the Board) of MGP
Ingredients, Inc. (the Company) with awards (Restricted Stock Awards) of
shares of common stock, no par value (Stock), of the Company, subject to the
restrictions and other provisions of the Plan.
It is intended that the plan will (a) provide a means of compensating
Directors that will help attract and retain qualified candidates to serve as
Directors, and (b) permit Directors to increase their stock ownership and
proprietary interest in the Company and their identification with the interests
of the Companys stockholders.
1.3 Shares
of Stock Available Under the Plan.
(a) Subject to the provisions of clause (c) below,
the number of shares of Stock that may be delivered under the Plan during the
term of the Plan is seventy-five (75,000).
If there is an insufficient number of shares available to deliver to all
Directors on any date as of which an award is made, the available shares shall
be delivered to Directors on such date pro-rata.
(b) Shares of Stock awarded under the Plan (Restricted
Stock) will be previously-issued shares of Stock reacquired by the Company,
including shares purchased in the open market.
(c) Appropriate and equitable adjustment shall be
made in the number and kind of shares of Stock available under the Plan and
covered by Restricted Stock Awards in the event of any recapitalization,
reorganization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination, repurchase,
exchange of shares or other securities of the Company, stock split, reverse
stock split, stock dividend, extraordinary dividend, liquidation, dissolution,
or other similar corporate transaction or event affecting the Company. If any
such adjustment would result in a fractional security being (i) available under
this Plan, such fractional security shall be disregarded; or (ii) subject
to an award under this Plan, the
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Company shall pay the holder of such award an
amount in cash determined by multiplying (x) the fraction of such security
(rounded to the nearest hundredth) by (y) the Fair Market Value
thereof on the date of such adjustment. The decision of the Committee (as
defined in Section 3.1) regarding such adjustment or substitution shall be
final, binding and conclusive.
Restricted
Stock Awards
2.1 Award
Dates.
(a) During the term of this Plan, commencing in
2006, each Director in office on the first business day following the date of
each annual meeting of stockholders (Annual Meeting) shall be awarded shares
of Restricted Stock with a Fair Market Value of $12,500, as determined on such
first business day following the Annual Meeting, subject in all cases to the
limits imposed in Section 1.3.
(b) A Director who is elected or appointed to the
Board on a date other than the date of an Annual Meeting shall be awarded
shares of Restricted Stock as of the first business day following such date of
election or appointment with a Fair Market Value of $12,500, as determined on
such first business day following the date of election or appointment, subject
in all cases to the limits imposed in Section 1.3
(c) The Fair Market Value of a share of
Restricted Stock on the date as of which fair market value is to be determined
shall be: (a) if the Stock is reported on the NASDAQ Stock Market., the closing
price of a share of Stock as reported by
NASDAQ as of the day on which the award was made; or (b) if the Stock is listed
on another established securities exchange or exchanges, the highest reported
closing price of a share of Stock on such exchange or exchanges as of day on
which the award was made. The Fair
Market Value of the Restricted Stock, if not so reported or listed, and the
Fair Market Value of any other property on the date as of which Fair Market
Value is to be determined, shall mean the fair market value as determined by
the Committee in its sole discretion, using a reasonable valuation method
consistently applied as provided in Prop. Reg. § 1.409A-1(b)(5)(iv)(B).
2.2 Issuance
of Stock. As
promptly as practical after the date as of which an award is made, the Company
shall issue a certificate (Certificate), registered in the name of each
Director receiving an award, representing the number of shares of Restricted
Stock covered by the Directors award.
2.3 Rights
of Holders of Restricted Stock. Upon issuance of a Certificate, the Director
in whose name the Certificate is registered shall, subject to the provisions of
the Plan, have all of the rights of a stockholder with respect to the shares of
Restricted Stock represented by the Certificate, including the right to vote
the shares and receive cash dividends and other cash distributions thereon.
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2.4 Vesting
Period. The
Restricted Stock shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in Sections 2.5
and 2.7 of the Plan. The Restricted Stock shall also be subject to a vesting
period (the Vesting Period) commencing on the date as of which the Restricted
Stock is awarded (the Award Date). The Restricted Stock becomes fully vested
on the occurrence of one of the following events (the Vesting Events): (1)
the third anniversary of the Award Date with respect to an award of Restricted
Stock to a Director; (2) the death of the Director; or (3) a Change in Control,
as defined below. Further, the Committee is authorized to accelerate vesting in
any given case in the event of the following terminations of the Directors
Board service:
(a) the retirement of the Director from the Board
at the end of the Directors term;
(b) the termination of the Directors service on
the Board as a result of the Directors not standing for reelection for the
Board; or
(c) the termination of the Directors service on
the Board because of the Directors inability to perform substantially such
Directors duties and responsibilities as a Director of the Company due to a
physical or mental condition, as determined in the discretion of the Committee.
As used herein
the term Change in Control means:
(x) The acquisition (other than from the
Company) by any person, entity or group, within the meaning of Section
13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act, (excluding, for this purpose, the
Company or its subsidiaries, any employee benefit plan of the Company or its
subsidiaries, trustees of the MGP Ingredients, Inc. Voting Trust or of the Cray
Family Trust, or any person who acquires Common or Preferred Stock from Cloud
L. Cray, Jr. or from any trust controlled by or for the benefit of Cloud L.
Cray, Jr. prior to or as a result of his death) of beneficial ownership,
(within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of at
least 30% of the then outstanding shares of common stock and 50% of the then
outstanding shares of preferred stock, par value $10 per share, or 30% of the combined voting power of the
Companys then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election
of directors; or
(y) Individuals who, as of the date
hereof, constitute the Board (as of the date hereof the Incumbent Board)
cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board, provided
that any person becoming a director subsequent to the date hereof whose
election, or nomination for election by the Companys stockholders, was
approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then comprising the
Incumbent Board (other than an election or nomination of an individual whose
initial assumption of office is in connection with an actual or threatened
election contest relating to the election of the directors of the Company)
shall be, for purposes of this Plan, considered as though such person were a
member of the Incumbent Board; or
(z) Approval by the stockholders of the
Company of a reorganization, merger, consolidation, in each case, with respect
to which persons who were the stockholders of the Company immediately prior to
such reorganization, merger or consolidation do not,
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immediately thereafter, own collectively as a
group more than 50% of the combined voting power entitled to vote generally in
the election of directors of the reorganized,
merged or consolidated companys then outstanding voting securities, or
a liquidation or dissolution of the Company or of the sale of all or
substantially all of the assets of the Company.
If any of the events
enumerated in clauses (x) through (z) occur, the Committee shall determine the
effective date of the Change in Control resulting therefrom for purposes of the
Plan.
2.5 Forfeiture
of Restricted Stock.
As of the date (Resignation Date) a Director resigns from the Board
during the Directors term, the Director shall forfeit to the Company all
Restricted Stock awarded to the Director for which the Vesting Period has not
ended as of or prior to the Resignation Date.
2.6 Release
of Restricted Stock.
Restricted Stock shall be released to the Director, free and clear of
all restrictions and other provisions of the Plan, on the first business day
immediately following the last day of the Vesting Period with respect to such
Restricted Stock.
2.7 Restrictions. Restricted Stock shall be subject to the
following restrictions during the Vesting Period:
(a) The Restricted Stock shall be subject to
forfeiture to the Company as provided in Section 2.5 of the Plan.
(b) The Restricted Stock may not be sold,
assigned, transferred, pledged, hypothecated or otherwise disposed of, and
neither the right to receive Restricted Stock nor any interest under the Plan
may be assigned by a Director, and any attempted assignment shall be void.
(c) Each Certificate representing shares of
Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company and shall, at the option of the
Company, bear an appropriate restrictive legend and be subject to appropriate stop
transfer orders. The Director shall
deliver to the Company a stock power endorsed in blank to the Company to be
used by the Company in the event the Restricted Stock is forfeited.
(d) Any additional Stock or other securities or
property (other than cash) that may be issued with respect to Restricted Stock
as a result of any stock dividend, stock split, business combination or other
event, shall be subject to the restrictions and other provisions of the Plan.
(e) The issuance of any Restricted Stock award
shall be subject to and contingent upon (i) completion of any registration or
qualification of the Stock under any federal or state law or government rule or
regulation that the Company, in its sole discretion, determines to be necessary
or advisable; and (ii) the execution by the Director and delivery to the
Company of (A) any agreement reasonably required by the Company, and (B) the
stock power referred to in Section 2.7(c).
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General
Provisions.
3.1 Administration. The Plan shall be administered by a committee
(the Committee) that shall be the Human Resources and Compensation Committee
of the Board. The Committee shall have
full power, discretion and authority to interpret and administer the Plan. The Committees interpretations and actions
shall be final, conclusive and binding upon all persons for all purposes. No member of the Board or the Committee, nor
any officer or employee of the Company acting on behalf of the Board or the
Committee, shall be personally liable for any action, determination or
interpretation taken or made in good faith with respect to the Plan, and all
members of the Board and the Committee and any officer or employee of the
Company acting on their behalf shall, to the extent permitted by law, be fully
indemnified and protected by the Company in respect to any such action,
determination or interpretation.
3.2 No
Retention Rights.
Neither the establishment of the Plan nor the awarding of Restricted
Stock to a Director shall be considered to give the Director the right to be
retained on, or nominated for reelection to, the Board, or to any benefits or
awards not specifically provided for by the Plan.
3.3 Interests
Not Transferable.
Except as to withholding of any tax required under the laws of the
United States or any state or locality, no benefit payable at any time under
the Plan shall be subject in any manner to alienation, sale, transfer,
assignment, pledge, attachment, or other legal process, or encumbrance of any
kind. Any attempt to alienate, sell,
transfer, assign, pledge, attach or otherwise encumber any such benefits
whether currently or thereafter payable, shall be void. No benefit shall, in any manner, be liable
for or subject to the debts or liabilities of any person entitled to such
benefits. If any person shall attempt
to, or shall alienate, sell, transfer, assign, pledge or otherwise encumber
such persons benefits under the Plan, or if by reason of such persons
bankruptcy or any other event, such benefits would devolve upon any other
person or would not be enjoyed by the person entitled thereto under the Plan,
then the Committee, in its discretion, may terminate the interest in any such
benefits of the person entitled thereto under the Plan and hold or apply them
to or for the benefit of such person entitled thereto under the Plan or such
persons spouse, children or other dependents, or any of them, in such manner
as the Committee may deem proper.
3.4 Amendment
and Termination.
The Board may at any time amend or terminate the Plan; provided that:
(a) no amendment or termination shall, without the
written consent of a Director, adversely affect the Directors rights under
outstanding awards of Restricted Stock; and
(b) Stockholder approval of any amendment shall be
required if stockholder approval is required under applicable law or the rules
of any national securities exchange or automated quotation system on which are
listed or quoted any of the Companys equity securities.
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3.5 Severability. If all or any part of the Plan is declared by
any court or governmental authority to be unlawful or invalid, such
unlawfulness or invalidity shall not serve to invalidate any portion of the
Plan not declared to be unlawful or invalid.
Any Section or part thereof so declared to be unlawful or invalid shall,
if possible, be construed in a manner which will give effect to the terms of
such Section or part thereof to the fullest extent possible while remaining
lawful and valid.
3.6 Controlling
Law. The law of
Kansas, except its law with respect to choice of law, shall be controlling in all matters relating to the Plan.
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