Exhibit 10.4
EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This Executive Employment Agreement (the Agreement) is entered into by and between Atlantic Power Holdings, Inc. (Atlantic Holdings or the Company), Atlantic Power Corporation (Atlantic Power) and Paul H. Rapisarda (Executive). Atlantic Holdings, Atlantic Power and Executive are collectively referred to herein as the Parties. This Agreement shall be effective as of December 31, 2009 (the Effective Date), subject to the termination of the Management Agreement (as defined below) becoming effective.
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, Atlantic Power, a publicly traded corporation organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, through Atlantic Holdings, owns interests in a portfolio of power generation projects located predominantly in major markets in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Atlantic Holdings is a Delaware limited liability company, owned by Atlantic Power; and
WHEREAS, since 2008, Executive has served as Managing Director, Acquisitions and Asset Management, of Atlantic Power Management, LLC (Atlantic Management), a Delaware limited liability company previously engaged under a first amended and restated management agreement dated as of the 24th day of April, 2007 (the Management Agreement) to provide certain management and administrative services to both Atlantic Power and Atlantic Holdings and their various subsidiary organizations, pursuant to an employment agreement dated May 1, 2009 (the Previous Employment Agreement); and
WHEREAS effective as of the Effective Date, the Company, Atlantic Power and Atlantic Management have agreed to terminate the Management Agreement; and
WHEREAS in connection with, and subject to, the termination of the Management Agreement, the Executive, the Company, Atlantic Power and Atlantic Management, and their respective affiliates, have agreed that the Executive will cease to be employed by Atlantic Management and will be employed as the Managing Director, Acquisitions and Asset Management, of the Company, on the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is hereby agreed between and among the Parties as follows:
1. Employment
The Company agrees to employ Executive and Executive agrees to serve in the employ of the Company as an executive, as follows:
2. Term.
The Company hereby agrees to continue to employ the Executive and Executive hereby agrees to continue to serve the Company and its affiliates from the Effective Date until December 31, 2012, unless further extended or sooner terminated as hereinafter provided.
On the first day of the month of October in the year 2010, and on the first day of such month in each succeeding year, the remaining twenty-seven (27) month term of this Employment Agreement shall be automatically extended for one additional year unless, prior to such date, the Company shall have given the Executive, or the Executive shall have given the Company, written notice that the Employment Agreement shall not be extended.
3. Compensation.
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Percentile |
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Percentage of Target |
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Last in peer group |
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0 |
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< 25 |
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20% |
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25 49 |
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50% |
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50 74 |
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80% |
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75 84 |
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95% |
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> 85 |
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110% |
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Any amount payable in respect of the Annual Bonus shall be paid in cash, as a single lump sum, as soon as practicable in January following the calendar year for which the amount (or prorated portion) is earned or awarded, subject as to Section 3(b)(ii) above, to the Boards preliminary assessment and approval of firm results, including review of the December monthly report.
As used in this Agreement, Total Annual Compensation shall mean the Base Salary, Annual Bonus (calculated as above) and the Companys most recent 401-k matching contribution paid to Executive. Where Total Annual Compensation (or any component thereof) is required under this Agreement to be calculated for a period, any portion of which occurred prior to the Effective Date, such calculation shall include such portion and shall be based on the employment arrangements that were in effect, other than the calendar 2009 bonus which is to be paid and determined under this Agreement, between the Executive and Atlantic Management, Atlantic Holdings and Atlantic Power during such period pursuant to the Previous Employment Agreement.
Executive shall participate in the LTIP pursuant to its expressed terms (including any amendments contemplated in the August 11, 2009 report of Hugessen
Consulting, effective for the 2010 performance year, and amendments to address requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 409A) at a level that is commensurate with the Executives participation in such plans immediately prior to the Effective Date, or, if more favorable to the Executive, at the level made available to the Executive or other similar situated officers at any time thereafter and be entitled to the maximum award amount determined by the Plans Administrators, the independent members of the Atlantic Power Board, of 150% of the relevant years Base Salary.
The Executive shall also be entitled to participate or receive benefits under any future employee benefit plan or arrangement that the Company establishes for its key executives consistent with the general terms of any such future benefits plans.
4. Compensation Upon Death Or Disability.
In the event Executive shall, by reason of illness or incapacity, be unable to fulfill his obligations on behalf of the Company for a period of 90 consecutive days, the Companys long term disability group coverage for Executive will pay up to 60% of his Base Salary, subject to its terms and conditions. The Company will provide term life insurance coverage in accordance with its group policy.
5. Indemnification.
The Company and Atlantic Power shall each indemnify and hold harmless Executive to the fullest extent permitted under the laws of the State of Delaware (to the same extent that a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware could indemnify an officer or employee), in the case of the Company, and to the fullest extent permitted under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), in the case of Atlantic Power, in each case with respect to any and all costs, charges and expenses (including, without limitation, expenses of investigations, judicial or administrative proceedings or appeals, and attorneys fees and disbursements), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement (collectively, Claims) incurred, awarded, suffered or otherwise arising in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether brought by or in the right of the Company and/or Atlantic Power or otherwise and whether of a civil, criminal, administrative or investigative nature, in which Executive may be or may have been involved as a party, witness or otherwise, by reason of the fact that Executive is or was a director, officer and/or employee of the Company or any parent, subsidiary or affiliate of the Company, by reason of any action taken by him or of any inaction on his part while acting as such a director, officer and/or employee, or by reason of the fact that he is or was serving as the request of the Company as a director, partner, trustee, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, domestic or foreign, non-profit or for-profit, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise; in each case whether or not he is acting or serving in any such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification or reimbursement can be provided under this Agreement, unless such Claims arise principally and directly from the fraud, willful default or gross negligence of Executive. All indemnification required under this paragraph shall be paid by the Company and/or Atlantic Power, as applicable, in advance of the final disposition of such matter, provided, however, that such payment in advance of the final disposition of such matter shall be made only upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of Executive to repay all amounts so advanced in the event that it shall ultimately be determined that under the laws of the State of Delaware (in the case of the Company) or the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (in the case of Atlantic Power) the Executive would not be entitled to be indemnified by the Company and/or Atlantic Power, as applicable, as authorized in this Agreement.
6. Termination.
The Executives employment may be terminated only under the following conditions:
For purposes of this Agreement, a change in control means the occurrence of any of the following events:
(i) the sale, lease or transfer to any person or group, in one or a series of related transactions, of the assets of Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings which assets generated more than 50 % of Atlantic Holdings Cash Flow in a 12- month period ended on the last day of the most recent fiscal quarter to any person or group;
(ii) the adoption of a plan related to the liquidation or dissolution of Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings;
(iii) the acquisition by any person or group of a direct or indirect interest in more than 50% of: (A) the common shares of Atlantic Power or the common membership interests of Atlantic Holdings; or (B) the voting power of Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings; by way of purchase,
merger, or consolidation or otherwise (other than a creation of a holding company that does not involve a change in the beneficial ownership of the Company as a result of such transaction);
(iv) the merger or consolidation of Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings with or into another person or the merger of another person into Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings with the effect that immediately after such transaction the shareholders of Atlantic Power or the holders of common membership interests of Atlantic Holdings immediately prior to such transaction hold, directly or indirectly, less than 50% of the voting control over the person surviving such merger or consolidation, in each case other than the creation of a holding company that does not involve a change in the beneficial ownership of Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings as a result as such transaction; or
(v) Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings or any of their shareholders or members enters into any agreement providing for any of the foregoing, or the date which is 90 days prior to a definitive announcement by the Company or Atlantic Power of any of the foregoing, whichever is earlier, and the transaction contemplated thereby is ultimately consummated.
provided that the termination of the Management Agreement shall be deemed to constitute a change of control occurring on the Effective Date; provided further that the Executive acknowledges and agrees that neither the termination of the Management Agreement, the termination of the Executives previous employment agreement with Atlantic Power Management, LLC, the entering into of this Agreement or the conversion of Atlantic Power from an IPS structure to a common share structure, as the circumstances from such conversion exist on the Effective Date, shall, individually or in the aggregate, be deemed to constitute any of the circumstances set forth in Section 6(b).
7. Compensation Upon Termination.
If the Executives employment is terminated because of any breach of this Agreement by the Company, the Executive shall also be entitled to any other damages which he may sustain as a result of such breach including damages for loss of benefits under any of the Companys benefit, incentive compensation, or other plans that the Executive would have received had his employment continued for the full term provided for in this Agreement.
If the Executive asserts any claim in any contest (whether initiated by the Executive or by the Company) as to the breach, validity, enforceability or interpretation of any provision of this Agreement, the Company shall pay the Executives legal expenses (or cause such expenses to be paid) including, without limitation, his reasonable attorneys fees, on a quarterly basis, upon presentation of proof of such expenses, provided that the Executive shall reimburse the Company for such amounts, plus simple interest thereon at the 90-day United States Treasury Bill rate as in effect from time to time, compounded annually, if a court of competent jurisdiction shall find that the Executive did not have a good faith and reasonable basis to believe that he would prevail as to at least one material issue presented to the court.
The Executive shall not be required to mitigate the amount of any payment under this Agreement by seeking other reemployment or otherwise.
8. Confidentiality.
The Executive hereby agrees that, unless the written consent of the managers of Atlantic Holdings and the Atlantic Power Board is obtained, the Executive will not at any time use, or disclose or make available to any individual, corporation, limited partnership, general partnership, joint stock company, limited liability corporation, joint venture, association, company, trust, bank, trust company, pension fund, business trust or other organization, whether
or not legal entities and governments and agencies and political subdivisions thereof (each a Person), any information (herein Confidential Information) concerning the business of Atlantic Holdings and Atlantic Power, consisting primarily of the direct and indirect ownership, management, operation and leasing of assets and property in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution, purchase and sale of electricity and thermal energy, together with investments and other direct or indirect rights in Persons involved in such business and all activities ancillary or incidental to any of the foregoing (collectively, the Business) acquired in connection with the performance of the services by the Executive hereunder.
Executive acknowledges and agrees that all memoranda, notes, records and other documents made or compiled by Executive or made available to Executive as an employee of the Company concerning Atlantic Power or Atlantic Holdings shall be the Companys exclusive property and shall be delivered by Executive to the Company upon expiration or termination of this Agreement or at any other time upon the written request of the Company.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Executive may make use of, reveal or disclose Confidential Information:
The provisions of this Section 8 shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement or any part thereof, without regard to the reason therefore, but shall expire and be at an end on the second anniversary of the termination of the Executives employment hereunder.
Executive hereby acknowledges that the services to be rendered by him are of a special, unique and extraordinary character and, in connection with such services, he will have access to confidential information concerning the business of Atlantic Power and Atlantic Holdings. By reason of this, Executive consents and agrees that if he violates any of the provisions of this Agreement with respect to confidentiality, the Company and Atlantic Power would sustain
irreparable harm and, therefore, in addition to any other remedies which the Company and Atlantic Power may have under this Agreement or otherwise, the Company and Atlantic Holdings will each be entitled to seek an injunction restraining Executive from committing or continuing any such violation.
9. Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation.
The Executive hereby agrees that all restrictions in this clause are reasonable, valid and do not go beyond what is necessary to protect the interests of the Company and Atlantic Power. The provisions of this clause are only intended to safeguard against the Executive participating in certain competitive endeavors against the Company and Atlantic Power relative to the business above and not from engaging in subsequent businesses which do not meet the description in the preceding paragraph.
Executive agrees that the Company shall withhold from any and all payments required to be made to Executive in accordance with this Agreement all federal, state, local and other taxes that the Company or any such affiliates determine are required to be withheld in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations from time to time in effect.
This Agreement is intended to comply with the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 409A, or any applicable exemptions from Code Section 409A, as the case may be. Despite any contrary provision of this Agreement:
12. Assignability, Binding Effect.
The rights and obligations under this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and legal representatives of Executive, and shall inure to the benefit and be binding upon the Company and its successors (including, without limitation, any person, firm, corporation, partnership or entity who succeeds to the business of the Company), but neither this Agreement nor the rights or obligations of Executive hereunder may be assigned, pledged, hypothecated or otherwise transferred by Executive to another, person, firm corporation or entity without the prior written consent of the Company, nor may the obligations of Executive hereunder be delegated to any person, firm, corporation or entity.
13. Notices.
All notices, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be delivered personally or sent by registered or certified mail, prepaid and return receipt requested, to the other parties hereto at his or their mailing address as set forth on the signature page of this Agreement, and in the case of Atlantic Power, marked to the attention of the Chairman of the Board of Atlantic Power. Any party may change the address to which such communications hereunder shall be sent by sending notice of such change to the other parties as herein provided.
14. Severability
If any provision of this Agreement of any part hereof is invalid, unlawful or incapable of being enforced by reason of any rule of law or public policy, all conditions and provisions of this Agreement which can be given effect without such invalid, unlawful or unenforceable provision shall, nevertheless, remain in full force and effect.
15. Warranty.
Executive warrants and represents that he is not and will not become a party to any agreement, contract, arrangement or understanding, whether of employment or otherwise, that would in any way restrict or prohibit him from undertaking or performing his duties in accordance with this Agreement.
16. Authority.
By execution of this Agreement, (a) Atlantic Power represents that this Agreement has been reviewed and adopted by a resolution approved by a majority of the members of the Board of Directors of Atlantic Power, (b) Atlantic Holdings represents that this Agreement has been reviewed and approved by its Board of Managers; and (c) Executive represents that he has reviewed this Agreement, had the opportunity to consult with counsel and other advisors and is voluntarily entering into and executing this Agreement.
17. Complete Understanding; Prior Agreements.
This Agreement constitutes the complete understanding among the Parties with respect to the undertaking of the Executive hereunder, and no statement, representation, warranty or covenant has been made by either party with respect thereto except as expressly set forth herein. Unless otherwise specifically referred to herein, this Agreement shall, from and after the Effective Date, supersede, in all respects, all previous agreements in regard to employment between Executive and the Company, and Executive shall, as of the Effective Date, unless otherwise specifically referred to herein, have no rights under such agreements all of which are merged herein and shall be governed hereby. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, nothing herein shall abrogate or diminish any right of Executive to earned compensation, to benefits or to indemnification under his employment agreement with Atlantic Management for his service through the termination of such agreement, to the extent not already paid or provided (except for the bonus for calendar year 2009 to be paid under this Agreement). This Agreement shall not be altered, modified, amended or terminated except by written instrument signed by each of the Parties hereto.
18. Governing Law.
This Employment Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute relating to this Agreement.
19. Warranty / Certification of Authority
Each of the undersigned hereby personally warrants that he has the full authority to execute and enter into this Agreement and has obtained all consents, approvals and authorities of any person, committee or entity necessary to make this Agreement binding and fully enforceable against the party for which he signs.
This Agreement shall not become effective until the Secretary of Atlantic Holdings and the Secretary of Atlantic Power each has delivered to the Executive a duly signed certificate certifying that this Agreement and all of its terms have been duly approved by the Board of Directors of their respective companies.
[Signature Pages Follow]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement effective as of the day of the year first written above
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/s/ Amanda Wagemaker |
/s/ Paul Rapisarda |
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Witness |
PAUL RAPISARDA |
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ATLANTIC POWER HOLDINGS, INC., by its Manager, Atlantic Power Management, LLC |
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By: |
/s/ Barry Welch |
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Name: Barry Welch |
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Title: President |
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ATLANTIC POWER CORPORATION |
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By: |
/s/ Irving Gerstein |
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Name: Irving Gerstein |
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Title: Director |