STRYKER

2017 Proxy Statement

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44 PROPOSAL 5 — APPROVAL OF THE 2008 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN, AS AMENDED AND RESTATED General The purpose of our existing 2008 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "ESPP") is to encourage employee stock ownership, thus aligning employee interests with those of shareholders, and to enhance the ability of the Company to attract, motivate and retain qualified employees. We believe that the ESPP offers a convenient means for our employees who might not otherwise own our Common Stock to purchase and hold shares. The ESPP, which is qualified as an "employee stock purchase plan" under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") and the related regulations, currently covers an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares of our Common Stock and provides that no new purchase period may be designated after April 1, 2018. Management recommended and the Board approved on February 7, 2017, subject to approval by the shareholders at the annual meeting, that the ESPP be amended and restated to increase the number of shares that may be issued under the ESPP by 1,500,000 (from 5,000,000 to 6,500,000) and to permit new purchase periods to be designated through May 1, 2027. The summary below of the material terms of the ESPP is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the ESPP as proposed to be amended and restated, which is attached as Appendix C to this Proxy Statement. Shares Subject to the ESPP As of February 28, 2017, 1,436,903 shares of our Common Stock had been issued under the ESPP. If the amendment and restatement of the ESPP is approved, 5,063,097 shares (less any that have been issued since February 28, 2017) will be available for issuance in the future under the ESPP. If any purchase right under the ESPP terminates, is cancelled or expires without having been exercised in full, the underlying shares that were not purchased will again be available under the ESPP. To prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights of participants under the ESPP, appropriate adjustments will be made if any change is made to our outstanding Common Stock by reason of any merger, reorganization, consolidation, recapitalization, dividend or distribution, stock split, reverse stock split, spin-off or similar transaction or other change in corporate structure affecting our Common Stock or its value. ESPP Participants As defined in the ESPP, all employees of the Company and its subsidiaries, including officers and directors who are employees, are eligible to participate in the ESPP unless after the grant of purchase rights under the ESPP the employee would own Common Stock equal to or exceeding 5% of the total combined voting power or value of all outstanding capital stock of the Company (as calculated under the attribution rules in the Code). Members of the Board who are not employed as regular salaried officers or employees of the Company may not participate in the ESPP. Participation in the ESPP is voluntary and is dependent upon each eligible employee's election to participate and his or her determination, subject to the ESPP's provisions, as to the desired level of participation. As of December 31, 2016, approximately 20,000 of our employees are eligible to participate in the ESPP and approximately 3,600 were participating. Purchases under the ESPP The ESPP is administered by the Compensation Committee, which has broad power to make determinations under the ESPP, to interpret the terms of the ESPP and to establish rules and regulations for its administration. The Compensation Committee determines whether offers will be made and the beginning and ending dates of the related purchase periods. A purchase period may be not less than one month nor more than 27 months. The Compensation Committee determines the purchase price at which shares may be purchased by participants, which will not be less than the lesser of 85% of the fair market value per share of the Common Stock on the first day of the purchase period or 85% of the fair market value per share on the last day of the purchase period. Such design, along with other factors, permit the ESPP to be within the "safe harbor" created for employee stock purchase ESPPs in Accounting Standards Codification 718 and, accordingly, do not require an accounting charge for the discount provided on purchases under the ESPP. Since its inception in 2008, the ESPP has been conducted with monthly purchase periods, end of month purchase dates and a 5% discount from the closing price of our Common Stock as reported for NYSE Composite Transactions on the purchase date. Prior to the first day of each purchase period, each participant makes an irrevocable election to participate during the purchase period. At the end of the purchase period, the participant receives a number of shares, determined on the last day of the purchase period, equal to the payroll deductions credited during the purchase period divided by the fair market value of a share at the end of the purchase period less the applicable discount. A participant may not purchase shares with a fair market value greater than $25,000 under the ESPP in any calendar year. Participants may purchase shares only by submitting an election form during the election period established by the Compensation Committee prior to the beginning of each purchase period, stating the participant's election to have after-tax payroll deductions made for the purpose of participating in the ESPP. After initial enrollment in the ESPP, payroll deductions continue from purchase period to purchase period unless the participant makes another election to terminate his or her payroll deductions, terminates his or her employment with the Company or becomes ineligible to participate in the ESPP. The amounts deducted are credited to the participant's account under the ESPP until the purchase date. All amounts credited to a terminated employee's account (and any payroll deductions previously authorized by the terminated employee attributable to payroll periods prior to such employee's last day of employment) will remain in the ESPP for purchase of shares on the next following purchase date. We do not pay interest on the deducted amounts. If sufficient shares are not available in any purchase period under the ESPP, the available shares will be allocated pro rata among the participants in that purchase period in the same proportion that their base compensation bears to the total of the base compensations of all participants for that purchase period. Any amounts not applied to the purchase of Common Stock will be refunded to the participants after the end of the purchase period without interest.

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