Exhibit 10.3
FORM OF
SIMON PROPERTY GROUP
SERIES 2026 LTIP UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
This Series 2026 LTIP Unit Award Agreement (“Agreement”) made as of the date set forth below, among Simon Property Group, Inc., an Indiana corporation (the “Company”), its subsidiary, Simon Property Group, L.P., an Indiana limited partnership and the entity through which the Company conducts substantially all of its operations (the “Partnership”), and the person on Schedule A hereto as the grantee (the “Grantee”).
Recitals
NOW, THEREFORE, the Company, the Partnership and the Grantee agree as follows:
“Assumed” has the meaning set forth in Section 4(c)(i)(B).
“Award LTIP Units” means the number of LTIP Units granted under this Agreement, as set forth on Schedule A.
“Baseline Value” means $[], the per share closing price of the Common Stock reported by The New York Stock Exchange for the last trading date preceding [].
“CAGR” means compound annual growth rate.
“Cause” shall have the meaning specified in the Grantee’s Service Agreement or, in the case the Grantee is not a party to a Service Agreement or is party to a Service Agreement that does not define
the term, “Cause” shall mean any of the following acts by the Grantee: (i) embezzlement or misappropriation of corporate funds, (ii) any acts resulting in a conviction for, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a charge of commission of a felony, (iii) misconduct resulting in injury to the Company or any Affiliate, (iv) activities harmful to the reputation of the Company or any Affiliate, (v) a material violation of Company or Affiliate operating guidelines or policies, (vi) willful refusal to perform, or substantial disregard of, the duties properly assigned to the Grantee, or (vii) a violation of any contractual, statutory or common law duty of loyalty to the Company or any Affiliate..
“Certificate of Designation” means the Certificate of Designation of Series 2026 LTIP Units of the Partnership approved by the Company as the general partner of the Partnership.
“Change of Control” means:
| i. | Any “person,” as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act (other than the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or the estate of Melvin Simon, Herbert Simon or David Simon (the “Simons”), or any trustee, fiduciary or other person or entity holding securities under any employee benefit plan or trust of the Company or any of its subsidiaries), together with all “Affiliates” and “associates” (as such terms are defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) of such person, shall become the “beneficial owner” (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 25% or more of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors; provided that for purposes of determining the “beneficial ownership” (as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of any “group” of which the Simons or any of their Affiliates or associates is a member (each such entity or individual, a “Related Party”), there shall not be attributed to the beneficial ownership of such group any shares beneficially owned by any Related Party; |
| ii. | Individuals who, as of the date hereof, constitute the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board; provided, however, that any individual becoming a director subsequent to the date hereof whose election, or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders, was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then comprising the Incumbent Board shall be considered as though such individual were a member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of office occurs as a result of either an actual or threatened election contest or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or consents by or on behalf of a person other than the Board; |
| iii. | The consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation in which the Company and/or the Partnership is a party, or of the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and/or the Partnership (any such reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale or other disposition of assets being referred to as a “Business Combination”), in each case unless, following such Business Combination, (A) more than 60% of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the surviving or acquiring corporation resulting from the Business Combination entitled to vote generally in the election of directors is then beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by all or substantially all of the individuals and entities who were the beneficial owners of the Company’s outstanding voting securities immediately prior to such Business Combination in substantially the same proportions as their beneficial ownership, immediately prior to such Business Combination, of the Company’s outstanding voting securities, (B) no person (excluding the Company, the Simons, any |
| employee benefit plan or related trust of the Company or such surviving or acquiring corporation resulting from the Business Combination and any person beneficially owning, immediately prior to such reorganization, merger or consolidation, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting securities) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the surviving or acquiring corporation resulting from the Business Combination entitled to vote generally in the election of directors and (C) at least a majority of the members of the board of directors of the surviving or acquiring corporation resulting from such Business Combination were members of the Incumbent Board at the time of the execution of the initial agreement providing for such Business Combination; or |
| iv. | Approval by the stockholders of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company and/or the Partnership. |
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Common Stock” means the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, either currently existing or authorized hereafter.
“Continuous Service” means the Grantee’s continuous service to the Company or any subsidiary or Affiliate, without interruption or termination, as an employee, consultant or director. Continuous Service shall not be considered interrupted in the case of: (i) any approved leave of absence; (ii) transfers among the Company and any subsidiary or Affiliate; or (iii) any change in status as long as the individual remains in the service of the Company and any subsidiary or Affiliate as an employee, consultant or director. An approved leave of absence shall include sick leave (including, due to any mental or physical disability whether or not such condition rises to the level of a Disability), military leave, or any other authorized personal leave. For purposes of determining Continuous Service, service with the Company includes service, following a Change of Control, with a surviving or successor entity (or its parent entity) that Assumes this Award, as contemplated by Section 4(c)(i)(B).
“Disability” means, with respect to the Grantee, a “permanent and total disability” as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code.
“Earned LTIP” means those Award LTIP Units that have been determined by the Committee, in its sole and absolute discretion, to have been earned on the Valuation Date based on the extent to which one or more of the FFO Goal, as may be modified by the TSR Modifier, and the Objective Criteria Goals have been achieved as set forth in Section 3(c) or have otherwise been earned under Section 4.
“Effective Date” means [].
“Ending Common Stock Price” means, as of a particular date, the average of the closing prices of the Common Stock reported by The New York Stock Exchange for the twenty (20) consecutive trading days ending on (and including) such date; provided, however, that if such date is the date upon which a Change of Control occurs, the Ending Common Stock Price as of such date shall be equal to the fair value, as determined by the Committee, in its sole and absolute discretion, of the total consideration paid or payable in the transaction resulting in the Change of Control for one share of Common Stock.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“Family Member” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.
“FFO Goal” means the goal for Real Estate FFO as set forth on Exhibit A.
“Good Reason” shall have the meaning specified in the Grantee’s Service Agreement, or, if the Grantee is not a party to a Service Agreement or is party to a Service Agreement that does not define the term, “Good Reason” shall mean any of the following events that occurs upon or following a Change of Control without the Grantee’s prior consent:
| i. | the Grantee experiences a material diminution in title, duties, authority or responsibilities as compared to the title, duties, authority and responsibilities as in effect during the 90-day period immediately preceding such Change of Control; |
| ii. | the Grantee experiences a material diminution in compensation and benefits as compared to the compensation and benefits as in effect during the 90-day period immediately preceding the Change of Control, other than (A) a reduction in compensation which is applied to all employees of the Company or Affiliate in the same dollar amount or percentage, or (B) a reduction or modification of any employee benefit program covering substantially all of the employees of the Company or Affiliate, which reduction or modification generally applies to all employees covered under such program; or |
| iii. | the Grantee is required to be based at any office or location that is in excess of 50 miles from the principal location of the Grantee’s work during the 90-day period immediately preceding the Change of Control. |
Before a resignation will constitute a resignation for Good Reason, the Grantee must give the Company or applicable Affiliate a notice of resignation within 30 calendar days of the first occurrence of the event alleged to constitute Good Reason. The notice must set forth in reasonable detail the specific reason for the resignation and the facts and circumstances claimed, including the date on which the event alleged to constitute Good Reason occurred, to provide a basis for concluding that such resignation is for Good Reason. Failure to provide such notice within such 30-day period shall be conclusive proof that the Grantee does not have Good Reason to terminate employment. In addition, Good Reason shall exist only if the Company or applicable Affiliate fails to remedy the event or events constituting Good Reason within 30 calendar days after receipt of the notice of resignation and the date of termination occurs within 90 calendar days following the occurrence of the event alleged to constitute Good Reason.
“Grant Date” means the date that the Award LTIP Units were granted as set forth on Schedule A.
“Linear Interpolation” means straight line linear interpolation.
“LTIP Units” means the Series 2026 LTIP Units issued pursuant to the Certificate of Designation.
“Objective Criteria Goals” means the Objective Criteria Goals set forth on Exhibit A.
“Partial Service/Performance Factor” means a factor carried out to the sixth decimal to be used in calculating the Earned LTIP Units pursuant to Section 4(b) in the event of a Qualified Termination, or pursuant to Section 4(d) in the event of a Change of Control prior to the Valuation Date, determined by dividing the number of calendar days that have elapsed since the Effective Date to and including the date of the Grantee’s Qualified Termination or a Change of Control, whichever is applicable, by 1,095.
“Partnership Units” or “Units” has the meaning provided in the Partnership Agreement.
“Performance Period” means the period commencing on the Effective Date and ending on the Valuation Date.
“Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, association, trust, unincorporated organization, other entity or “group” (as defined in the Exchange Act).
“Per Unit Purchase Price” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.
“Plan” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“Qualified Termination” has the meaning set forth in Section 4(b).
“Real Estate FFO” shall mean real estate funds from operations per share as disclosed by the Company in its periodic earnings releases and filings with the SEC during the Performance Period, as
the case may be (or such similarly calculated, equivalent successor metric, as reasonably determined by Compensation Committee, in the event real estate funds from operations, per share is no longer disclosed by the Company). Real Estate FFO may be increased or decreased to give effect to any of the following: any (i) extraordinary, unusual or nonrecurring item, as described in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 225-20 (or any successor pronouncement thereto) including without limitation a spin-off, or as a result of dispositions not made in the ordinary course, (ii) litigation or claim judgments or settlements; (iii) changes in tax laws, accounting principles, or other laws or regulatory rules affecting reported results (iv) other specific unusual or nonrecurring events, or objectively determinable category thereof; (v) nonrecurring charges; and (vi) a change in the Company’s fiscal year. Each such adjustment, if any, shall be made by the Committee, in its sole and absolute discretion, in order to prevent the undue dilution of the Grantee’s rights with respect to the Award, as modified herein.
“Scheduled Vesting Date” means [].
“SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Section 409A of the Code” means Section 409A of the Code and all regulations, guidance, compliance programs and other interpretive authority thereunder.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Service Agreement” means, as of a particular date on or following the Grant Date, any employment or service agreement then in effect between the Grantee, on the one hand, and the Company or one of its subsidiaries, on the other hand, pursuant to which Grantee provides services as an employee, consultant or director, as amended or supplemented through such date.
“Total Stockholder Return” or “TSR” means, with respect to a share of Common Stock as of a particular date of determination, the sum of: (A) the difference, positive or negative, between the Ending Common Stock Price as of such date and the Baseline Value, plus (B) the total per-share dividends and other distributions (excluding distributions described in Section 6) with respect to the Common Stock declared between the Effective Date and such date of determination and assuming contemporaneous reinvestment in Common Stock of all such dividends and distributions, using as a reinvestment price, the closing price per share of the Common Stock as of the most recent ex-dividend date so long as the “ex-dividend” date with respect thereto falls prior to such date of determination.
“Transfer” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.
“TSR Modifier” means the TSR Modifier as set forth on Exhibit A.
“TSR Percentage” means the TSR achieved with respect to a share of Common Stock from the Effective Date to the Valuation Date determined by following quotient: (A) the TSR divided by (B) the Baseline Value.
“Valuation Date” means [].
“Vested LTIP Units” means those Earned LTIP Units that have fully vested in accordance with the time-based vesting conditions set forth in this Agreement.
| 3. | Award. |
| (i) | if any; the extent to which the FFO Goal has been achieved; |
| (ii) | the extent to which the TSR Modifier is applicable, and its impact, if any |
| (iii) | the extent to which the Objective Criteria Goals have been achieved; |
| (iv) | using the payout matrix on Exhibit A, the number of Earned LTIP Units to which the Grantee is entitled, if any; and |
| (v) | the calculation of the Partial Service/Performance Factor, if applicable to the Grantee. |
If the number of Earned LTIP Units is smaller than the number of Award LTIP Units on the Valuation Date, then the Grantee, as of the Valuation Date, shall forfeit a number of Award LTIP Units equal to the difference, without payment of any consideration by the Partnership other than as provided in the last sentence of Section 5. Thereafter, the term LTIP Units, will refer only to the Earned LTIP Units, and neither the Grantee nor any of his or her successors, heirs, assigns, or personal representatives will have any further rights or interests in the Award LTIP Units that were so forfeited.
| 4. | Termination of Grantee’s Employment; Death and Disability; Change of Control. |
| (i) | the calculations provided in Section 3(c) shall be performed as of the Valuation Date as if the Qualified Termination had not occurred; |
| (ii) | the number of Earned LTIP Units calculated, pursuant to Section 3(c) shall be multiplied by the applicable Partial Service/Performance Factor(s) (with the resulting number(s) being rounded to the nearest whole LTIP Unit), and such adjusted number of Earned LTIP Units shall be deemed the Grantee’s Earned LTIP Units for all purposes under this Agreement; and |
| (iii) | the Grantee’s Earned LTIP Units as adjusted pursuant to Section 4(b)(ii) shall, as of the Valuation Date, become Vested LTIP Units and shall no longer be subject to forfeiture pursuant to Section 3(e). |
For purposes of this Section 4(d), this Award will be considered assumed if, in connection with the Change of Control, either (A) the contractual obligations represented by this Award are expressly assumed by the surviving or successor entity (or its parent entity) with appropriate adjustments to the number and type of securities subject to this Award that preserves the economic or financial value of this Award existing at the time the Change of Control occurs, or (B) the Grantee has received a comparable LTIP Unit award that preserves the economic or financial value of this Award existing at the time of the Change of Control and is subject to substantially similar terms and conditions as this Award.
| 6. | Distributions. |
| 7. | Restrictions on Transfer. |
| 8. | Miscellaneous. |
1 https://investors.simon.com/corporate-governance/highlights
| (g) | Grantee Representations; Registration. |
(B) the Grantee has not received or relied upon business or tax advice from the Company, the Partnership or any of their respective employees, agents, consultants or advisors, in their capacity as such; (C) the Grantee provides services to the Partnership on a regular basis and in such capacity has access to such information, and has such experience of and involvement in the business and operations of the Partnership, as the Grantee believes to be necessary and appropriate to make an informed decision to accept this Award; (D) LTIP Units are subject to substantial risks; (E) the Grantee has been furnished with, and has reviewed and understands, information relating to this Award; (F) the Grantee has been afforded the opportunity to obtain such additional information as he or she deemed necessary before accepting this Award; and (G) the Grantee has had an opportunity to ask questions of representatives of the Partnership and the Company, or persons acting on their behalf, concerning this Award.
2 https://simonpropertygroup.sharepoint.com/sites/HR-Dept/SitePages/Policies,-Procedures-%26-Forms.aspx
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Agreement to be executed as of [].
SIMON PROPERTY GROUP, INC., an Indiana
corporation
By:
Name: []
Title:[]
SIMON PROPERTY GROUP, L.P., an Indiana
limited partnership
By:
Name: []
Title: | [] |
GRANTEE
Name:
EXHIBIT A
[INTENTIONALLY OMITTED]
EXHIBIT B
FORM OF LIMITED PARTNER SIGNATURE PAGE
The Grantee, desiring to become one of the within named Limited Partners of Simon Property Group, L.P., hereby accepts all of the terms and conditions of and becomes a party to, the Ninth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, dated as of May 15, 2025, of Simon Property Group, L.P. as amended through this date (the “Partnership Agreement”). The Grantee agrees that this signature page may be attached to any counterpart of the Partnership Agreement.
Signature Line for Limited Partner:
Name:
Date:
Address of Limited Partner: [Street Address]
[City, State, zip code]
SCHEDULE A TO SERIES 2026 LTIP UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
Grant Date:[]
Name of Grantee:[]
NUMBER OF AWARD LTIP UNITS:[]