DISCLOSURES AND NOTICES§24.558
December 199624-243C
EXHIBIT A
LOEWENSTEIN FURNITURE GROUP, INC. 1993 STOCK OPTION PLAN
1. Purpose. The purpose of this Plan is to advance the interests of Loewenstein
Furniture Group, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), and its Subsidiaries by providing
an additional incentive to attract and retain qualified and competent persons who provide
management services and upon whose efforts and judgment the success of the Company and it s
Subsidiaries is largely dependent, through the encouragement of stock ownership in the
Company by such persons.
2. Definitions. As used herein, the following terms shall have the meaning
indicated: (a) “Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.
(b) “Committee” shall mean the committee appointed by the Board pursuant
to Section 13(a) hereof, or, if such committee is not appointed, the Board.
(c) “Common Stock” shall mean the Company’s Common Stock, par value
$.01 per share.
(d) “Director” shall mean a member of the Board.
(e) “Disinterested Person” shall mean a Director who is not, during the one
year prior to his or her service as an administrator of this Plan, or during such service, granted or
awarded equity securities pursuant to this Plan or any other plan of the Company or any of it s
affiliates, except that:
(i) participation in a formula plan meeting the conditions in paragraph
(c)(2)(ii) of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act shall not disqualify a
Director from being a Disinterested Person;
(ii) participation in an ongoing securities acquisition plan meeting the
conditions in paragraph (d)(2)(i) of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act
shall not disqualify a Director from being a Disinterested Person; and
(iii) an election to receive an annual retainer fee in either cash or an
equivalent amount of securities, or partly in cash and partly in securities, shall not disqualify a
Director from being a Disinterested Person.
(f) “Fair Market Value” of a Share on any date of reference shall mean the
“Closing Price” (as defined below) of the Common Stock on the business day immediate ly
preceding much date, unless the Committee in its sole discretion shall determi ne otherwise in a
fair and uniform manner. For the purpose of determining Fair Market Value, the “Closing Price”
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of the Common Stock on any business day shall be (i) if the Common Stock is listed or a dmitted
for trading on any United States national securities exchange, or if actual transactions are
otherwise reported on a consolidated transaction reporting system, the last reported male price of
Common Stock on such exchange or reporting system, as reported in any newspaper of general
circulation, (ii) if the Common Stock is quoted on the National Association of Securi ties Dealers
Automated Quotations System (“Nasdaq”), or any similar system of automated disseminati on of
quotations of securities prices in common use, the mean between the closing
DISCLOSURES AND NOTICES§24.558
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high bid and low asked quotations for such day of Common Stock on such system, or (iii) if
neither clause (i) or (ii) is applicable, the mean between the high bid and low asked quotations
for the Common Stock as reported by the National Quotation Bureau,
Incorporated if at least two
securities dealers have inserted both bid and asked quotations for Common Stock on at least five
of the ten preceding days.
(g) “Incentive Stock Option” shall mean an incentive stock option as defined
in Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(h) “Internal Revenue Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended from time to time.
(i) “Non-Qualified Stock Option” shall mean an Option which is not an
Incentive Stock Option.
(j) “Officer” shall mean the Company’s Chairman of the Board, President,
Chief Executive Officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, any vice-
president of the Company in charge of a principal business unit, division or function (such as
sales, administration or finance), any other officer who performs a policy-making function, or
any other person who performs similar policy-making functions for the Company. Officers of
Subsidiaries shall be deemed Officers of the Company if they perform such policy-making
functions for the Company. As used in this paragraph, the phrase “policy-making function” does
not include policy-making functions that are not significant. If pursuant to Item 401(b) of
Regulation S-K (17 C.F.R. § 229.401(b)) the Company identifies a person as an “executive
officer, ”
the person so identified shall be deemed an “Officer” even though such person may not
otherwise be an “Officer” pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph.
(k) “Option” (when capitalized) shall mean any option granted under this
Plan.
(1) “Optionee” shall mean a person to whom a stock option is granted under
this Plan or any person who succeeds to the rights of such person under this Plan by reason of the
death of such person.
(m) “Plan”
shall mean this Stock option Plan for the Company.
(n) “Securities Exchange Act”
shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended.
(o) “Share”
shall mean a share of Common Stock.
(p) “Subsidiary” shall mean any corporation (other than the Company) in any
unbroken chain of corporations beginning with the Company if, at the time of the granting of the
option, each of the corporations other than the last corporation in the unbroken chain owns stoc k
possessing 50 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one
of the other corporations in such chain.
3. Shares Available for Option Grants. The Committee may grant to Optionees
from time to time Options to purchase an aggregate of up to Four Hundred Thirty-Eight
Thousand Ten (438,010) Shares from the Company’s authorized and unissued Shares. If any
Option granted under the Plan shall terminate, expire, or be canceled or surrendered as to any
Shares, new Options may thereafter be granted covering such Shares.
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4. Incentive and Non-Qualified Options.
(a) An Option granted hereunder shall be either an Incentive Stock Option or
a Non-Qualified Stock Option as determined by the Committee at the time of gra nt of such
Option and shall clearly state whether it is an Incentive Stock Option or Non-Qualifi ed Stock
option. All Incentive Stock options shall be granted within 10 years from the effective da te of
this Plan.
DISCLOSURES AND NOTICES§24.558
December 199624-243G
(b) Options otherwise qualifying as Incentive Stock Options hereunder will
not be treated as Incentive Stock Options to the extent that the aggregate fai r market value
(determined at the time the Option is granted) of the Shares, with respect to which opt ions
meeting the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 422(b) are exercisable for t he first
time by any individual during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its parent
and subsidiary corporations), exceeds $100,000.
5. Conditions for Grant of options.
(a) Each Option shall be evidenced by an option agreement that may contain
any term deemed necessary or desirable by the Committee, provided such terms are not
inconsistent with this Plan or any applicable law. Optionees shall be those persons selec ted by
the Committee from the class of all regular employees of the Company or its Subsidi aries,
including Directors and Officers who are regular employees, as well as each other Direct or who
is affiliated with Trivest, Inc. Any person who files with the Committee, in a form satisfactory to
the Committee, a written waiver of eligibility to receive any Option under this Plan shall not be
eligible to receive any Option under this Plan for the duration of such waiver.
(b) In granting options, the Committee shall take into consideration the
contribution the person has made to the success of the Company or its Subsidiaries and such
other factors as the Committee shall determine. The Committee shall a lso have the authority to
consult with and receive recommendations from officers and other personnel of the Company
and its Subsidiaries with regard to these matters. The Committee may from time to time in
granting Options under the Plan prescribe such other terms and conditions concerning such
options as it deems appropriate, including, without limitation, (i) prescribing the da te or dates on
which the Option becomes exercisable, (ii) providing that the Option rights accrue or become
exercisable in installments over a period of years, or upon the attainment of stat ed goals or both,
or (iii) relating an Option to the continued employment of the Optionee for a speci fied period of
time, provided that such terms and conditions are not more favorable to an Optionee tha n those
expressly permitted herein.
(c) The Options granted to employees under this Plan shall be in addition to
regular salaries, pension, life insurance or other benefits related to their employment with the
Company or its Subsidiaries. Neither the Plan nor any Option granted under the Plan shall confer
upon any person any right to employment or continuance of employment by the Company or its
Subsidiaries.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, an Incentive Stock
Option shall not be granted to any person owning directly or indirectly (through attribution under
Section 424(d) of the Internal Revenue Code) at the date of grant, stock possessing more than
10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company (or of its pare nt
or subsidiary [as defined in Section 424 of the Internal Revenue Code] at the date of gra nt)
unless the option price of such option is at least 110% of the Fair Market Value of the Sha res
subject to such Option on the date the option is granted, and such option by its terms is not
exercisable after the expiration of five years from the date such Option is granted.
6. Option Price. The option price per Share of any Option shall be any price
determined by the Committee but shall not be less than the par value per Share; provided,
however, that in no event shall the option price per Share of any Incentive Stock option be less
than the Fair Market Value of the Shares underlying such Option on the date such option is
granted.
7. Exercise of Options. An Option shall be deemed exercised when (i) the
Company has received written notice of such exercise in accordance with the te rms of the
Option, (ii) full payment of the aggregate option price of the Shares as to which the Opti on is
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exercised has been made, and (iii) arrangements that are satisfactory to the Com mittee in its sole
discretion have been made for the Optionee’s payment to the Company of the amount tha t is
necessary for the Company or Subsidiary employing the Optionee to withhold in accordance
with applicable Federal or state tax withholding requirements. Unless further limited by the
Committee in any Option, the option price of any Shares purchased shall be paid in ca sh, by
certified or official bank check, by money order, with Shares or by
DISCLOSURES AND NOTICES§24.558
December 1996 24-243I
a combination of the above; provided further, however, that the Committee in its sole discretion
may accept a personal check in full or partial payment of any Shares. If the exercise price is paid
in whole or in part with Shares, the value of the Shares surrendered shall be their Fair Marke t
Value on the date the Option is exercised. The Company in its sole discretion may, on an
individual basis or pursuant to a general program established in connection with this Plan, lend
money to an Optionee, guarantee a loan to an Optionee, or otherwise resist an Optionee to obtain
the cash necessary to exercise all or a portion of an Option granted hereunder or to pay any tax
liability of the Optionee attributable to such exercise. If the exercise price i s paid in whole or part
with Optionee’s promissory note, such note shall (i) provide for full recourse to the maker, (ii) be
collateralized by the pledge of the Shares that the Optionee purchases upon exercise of such
Option, (iii) bear interest at the prime rate of the Company’s principal lender, and (iv) contain
such other terms as the Board in its sole discretion shall reasonably require. No Optione e shall be
deemed to be a holder of any Shares subject to an Option unless and until a stock cert ificate or
certificates for such Shares are issued to such person(s) under the terms of this Plan. No
adjustment shall be made for dividends (ordinary or extraordinary, whether in cash, securities or
other property) or distributions or other rights for which the record date is prior to the date such
stock certificate is issued, except as expressly provided in Section 10 hereof.
8. Exercisability of Options. Any Option shall become exercisable in such amounts,
at such intervals and upon such terms as the Committee shall provide in such Option, exc ept as
otherwise provided in this Section 8.
(a) The expiration date of an Option shall be determined by the Committee at
the time of grant, but in no event shall an Option be exercisable after the expi ration of 10 years
from the date of grant of the Option.
(b) Unless otherwise provided in any Option, each outstanding Option shall
become immediately fully exercisable:
(i) if there occurs any transaction (which shall include a series of
transactions occurring within 60 days or occurring pursuant to a plan), that has the result that
shareholders of the Company immediately before such transaction cease to own at le ast 51
percent of the voting stock of the Company or of any entity that results from the partic ipation of
the Company in a reorganization, consolidation, merger, liquidation or any other form of
corporate transaction;
(ii) if the shareholders of the Company shall approve a plan of merger,
consolidation, reorganization, liquidation or dissolution in which the Company does not survive
(unless the approved merger, consolidation, reorganization, liquidation or dissolution is
subsequently abandoned); or
(iii) if the shareholders of the Company shall approve a plan for the
sale, lease, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all the property and assets of the
Company (unless such plan is subsequently abandoned).
(c) The Committee may in its sole discretion accelerate the date on whi ch any
Option may be exercised and may accelerate the vesting of any Shares subject to any Option or
previously acquired by the exercise of any Option.
9. Termination of Option Period.
(a) The unexercised portion of any Option shall automatically and without
notice terminate and become null and void at the time of the earliest to occur of the following:
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(i) three months after the date on which the Optionee’s employment is
terminated or, in the case of a Non-Qualified Stock Option, and unless the Committe e shall
otherwise determine in writing in its sole discretion, the date on which the Optionee ’s
employment is terminated, in either case for any reason other than by reason of (A) C ause,
which, solely for purposes of this Plan, shall mean the termination of the Optionee’s
DISCLOSURES AND NOTICES§24.558
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employment by reason of the Optionee’s wilful misconduct or gross negligence, (B) a mental or
physical disability as determined by a medical doctor satisfactory to the Committee, or (C) death;
(ii) immediately upon the termination of the Optionee’s employment
for Cause;
(iii) twelve months after the date on which the Optionee’s employment
is terminated by reason of a mental or physical disability (within the meaning of Internal
Revenue Code Section 22(e)) as determined by a medical doctor satisfactory to the Committee;
(iv) (A) twelve months after the date of termination of the Optionee’s
employment by reason of death of the employee, or (B) three months after the date on which the
Optionee shall die if such death shall occur during the one year period specifie d in Subsection
9(a)(iii) hereof.
(b) The Committee in its sole discretion may by giving written notice
(“cancellation notice”) cancel, effective upon the date of the consummation of any corporate
transaction described in Subsections 8(b)(ii) or (iii) hereof, any Option that remains unexerci sed
on such date. Such cancellation notice shall be given a reasonable period of time pri or to the
proposed date of such cancellation and may be given either before or after -approval of suc h
corporate transaction.
10. Adjustment of Shares.
(a) If at any time while the Plan is in effect or unexercised Options are
outstanding, there shall be any increase or decrease in the number of issued and outstanding
Shares through the declaration of a stock dividend or through any recapitalization resulti ng in a
stock split-up, combination or exchange of Shares, then and in such event:
(i) appropriate adjustment shall be made in the maximum number of
Shares available for grant under the Plan, so that the same percentage of the Company’s issued
and outstanding Shares shall continue to be subject to being so optioned; and
(ii) appropriate adjustment shall be made in the number of Shams and
the exercise price per Share thereof then subject to any outstanding Option, so tha t the same
percentage of the Company’s issued and outstanding Shares shall remain subject to purchase at
the same aggregate exercise price.
(b) Unless otherwise provided in any Option, the Committee may change the
terms of Options outstanding under this Plan, with respect to the option price or the numbe r of
Shares subject to the Options, or both, when, in the Committee’s sole discretion, such
adjustments become appropriate by reason of a corporate transaction described in Subsections
8(b)(ii) or (iii) hereof so as to preserve but not increase benefits under the Plan.
(c) Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the issuance by the
Company of shares of its capital stock of any class, or securities convertible into shares of capital
stock of any class, either in connection with direct sale or upon the exercise of rights or warrants
to subscribe therefor, or upon conversion of shares or obligations of the Company convertible
into such shares or other securities, shall not affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be
made to, the number of or exercise price for Shares then subject to outstanding Options grant ed
under the Plan.
(d) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the existence of
outstanding Options granted under the Plan shall not affect in any manner the right or power of
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the Company to make, authorize or consummate (i) any or all adjustments, recapital izations,
reorganizations or other changes in the Company’s capital structure or its business; (ii) any
merger or consolidation of the Company; (iii) any issue by the Company of debt securities, or
preferred or preference stock that would rank above the Shares subject to outstanding Options;
(iv) the dissolution
DISCLOSURES AND NOTICES§24.558
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or liquidation of the Company; (v) any sale, transfer or assignment of all or any part of the assets
or business of the Company; or (vi) any other corporate act or proceeding, whether of a similar
character or otherwise.
11. Transferability of Options and Shares.
(a) No Option shall be subject to alienation, assignment, pledge, charge or
other transfer other than by the Optionee by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and any
attempt to make any such prohibited transfer shall be void. Each Option shall be e xercisable
during the Optionee’s lifetime only by the Optionee.
(b) Any Shares acquired by an Officer or Director pursuant to the exercise of
an Option may not be sold, assigned, pledged or otherwise transferred prior to the expiration of
the six-month period following the date on which the Option was granted.
12. Issuance of Shares.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, the Company shall not
be obligated to issue any Shares unless it is advised by counsel of its selection that it may do so
without violation of the applicable Federal and State laws pertaining to the i ssuance of securities,
and may require any stock so issued to bear a legend, may give its transfer agent inst ructions,
and may take such other steps, as in its judgment are reasonably required to prevent a ny such
violation.
(b) As a condition to any sale or issuance of Shares upon exercise of any
Option, the Committee may require such agreements or undertakings as the Committee may
deem necessary or advisable to facilitate compliance with any applicable law or regulation
including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) a representation and warranty by the Optionee to the Company, at
the time any Option is exercised, that he is acquiring the Shares to be issued t o him for
investment and not with a view to, or for sale in connection with, the distribution of any such
Shares; and
(ii) a representation, warranty and/or agreement to be bound by any
legends endorsed upon the certificate(s) for such Shares that are, in the opinion of the
Committee, necessary or appropriate to facilitate compliance with the provisions of any
securities laws deemed by the Committee to be applicable to the issuance and
transfer of such Shares.
13. Administration of the Plan.
(a) Subsequent to the registration of the Common Stock pursuant to the
Securities Exchange Act, the Plan shall be administered by a committee appoint ed by the Board
(the “Committee”) which shall be composed of two or more Directors all of whom shal l be
Disinterested Persons. The membership of the Committee shall be constituted so as to comply at
all times with the applicable requirements of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Sec urities
Exchange Act. The Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Board and shall have the powers
designated herein and such other powers as the Board may from time to time confer upon it.
(b) The Committee, from time to time, may adopt rules and regulations for
carrying out the purposes of the Plan. The Committee’s determinations and its int erpretation and
construction of any provision of the Plan or any Option shall be final and conclusive.
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(c) Any and all decisions or determinations of the Committee shall be made
either (i) by a majority vote of the members of the Committee at a meet ing or (ii) without a
meeting by the unanimous written approval of the members of the Committee.
Lowenstein Furniture Group, Inc. 4/18/94
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