EX-10.4
Published on November 5, 2025
Exhibit 10.4
NONQUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
THIS NONQUALIFIED STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and effective as of the date specified in Schedule I hereto (the “Grant Date”), by and between the issuer specified in Schedule I hereto (the “Company”) and you.
The Company has adopted the incentive plan that governs the Options specified in Schedule I hereto (as has been or may hereafter be amended, the “Plan”), a copy of which is attached via a link at the end of this online Agreement as Exhibit A and, by this reference, made a part hereof. Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined in this Agreement will have the meanings ascribed to them in the Plan.
Pursuant to the Plan, the Plan Administrator has determined that it would be in the interest of the Company and its stockholders to grant you an Award of Options, subject to the conditions and restrictions set forth in this Agreement and in the Plan, in order to provide you with additional remuneration for services rendered, to encourage you to remain in the service or employ of the Company or its Subsidiaries and to increase your personal interest in the continued success and progress of the Company.
The Company and you therefore agree as follows:
“Agreement” has the meaning specified in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Business Day” means any day on which stock exchanges in the United States are open for trading.
“Cause” has the meaning specified as “cause” in Section 10.2(b) of the Plan.
“Close of Business” means, on any day, 4:00 p.m., New York, New York time.
“Common Stock” has the meaning specified in Schedule I hereto.
“Company” has the meaning specified in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Confidential Information” has the meaning specified in Section 11 (Confidential Information).
“Disability” has the meaning specified as “Disability” in Section 2.1 of the Plan.
“Employment Termination Date” means the date of termination of your employment with the Company or a Subsidiary, as applicable.
“Exercise Notice” has the meaning specified in Section 4(i)(1) (Manner of Exercise).
“Forfeitable Benefits” has the meaning specified in Section 29 (Forfeiture for Misconduct and Repayment of Certain Amounts).
“Grant Date” has the meaning specified in the preamble to this Agreement.
1
“Misstatement Period” has the meaning specified in Section 29 (Forfeiture for Misconduct and Repayment of Certain Amounts).
“Option(s)” has the meaning specified in Section 2 (Award).
“Option Exercise Price” means, with respect to each type of Common Stock for which Options are granted hereunder, the amount specified in Schedule I hereto as the Option Exercise Price for such Common Stock.
“Option Termination Date” has the meaning specified in Schedule I hereto.
“Plan” has the meaning specified in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Plan Administrator” has the meaning specified in Section 13 (Plan Administrator).
“Required Withholding Amount” has the meaning specified in Section 5 (Mandatory Withholding for Taxes).
“Section 409A” has the meaning specified in Section 28 (Code Section 409A).
“Year of Continuous Service” means a consecutive 12-month period, measured by your hire date (as determined by the Company) and the anniversaries of that date, during which you are employed by the Company or a Subsidiary (or an applicable predecessor of the Company) without interruption. If you were employed by a Subsidiary at the time of such Subsidiary’s acquisition by the Company, your employment with the Subsidiary prior to the acquisition date will be included in determining your Years of Continuous Service unless the Plan Administrator, in its sole discretion, determines that such prior employment will be excluded.
2
3
4
Notwithstanding any period of time referenced in this Section 7 or Schedule I hereto or any other provision of this Agreement that may be construed to the contrary, the Options will in any event terminate at the Close of Business on the Option Termination Date. Notwithstanding anything herein or the Plan to the contrary, if the Options would otherwise expire when trading in the Common Stock is prohibited by law or the Company’s insider trading policy pursuant to an event-specific occurrence (as determined by the Company), then the Options shall instead expire on the 30th day after the expiration of such prohibition.
5
6
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, pursuant to 18 USC § 1833(b), an individual will not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that is made: (a) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law and in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official (either directly or indirectly) or to an attorney; or (b) in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal. Further, an individual who files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law may disclose the trade secret to his or her attorney and use the trade secret information in a court proceeding, so long as the individual (I) files any document containing the trade secret under seal, and (II) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order. And further, nothing herein shall limit your ability to (i) provide truthful information, cause information to be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation regarding any conduct which you reasonably believes constitutes a violation of 18 U.S.C. sections 1341, 1343, 1344, or 1348, any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders, when the information or assistance is provided to or the investigation is conducted by a Federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, any Member of Congress or any committee of Congress, or a person with supervisory authority over you (or such other employee who has the authority to investigate, discover, or terminate misconduct); or (ii) file, cause to be filed, testify, participate in, or otherwise assist in a proceeding filed or about to be filed relating to an alleged violation of any of the foregoing.
7
8
9
10
*****
11
Schedule I
to
Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement
[Insert Grant Code]
Grant Date: |
| August 21, 2025 | ||
Issuer/Company: | | GCI Liberty, Inc., a Nevada corporation | ||
Plan: | | GCI Liberty, Inc. 2025 Omnibus Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time | ||
Common Stock: | | GCI Liberty, Inc. Series C GCI Group Common Stock | ||
Option Termination Date: | | August 21, 2030 | ||
Option Exercise Price: | | GCI Liberty, Inc. Series C GCI Group Common Stock:$ 37.85 | ||
General Vesting Schedule: | | Subject to your continuous employment with the Company or a Subsidiary from the Grant Date through the following applicable vesting dates, the Options will vest and become exercisable, rounded down to the nearest whole number, on the following schedule: | ||
| | Vesting Date | Vesting Percentage | |
| | December 31, 2026 | 33 1/3% | |
| | December 31, 2027 | 33 1/3% | |
| | December 31, 2028 | 33 1/3% | |
| | Each portion of the Options that relates to a particular vesting date is referred to herein as an individual “Tranche” (e.g., if this Award includes three vesting dates, then there are three Tranches). | ||
Overriding Definitions: | | For purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding Section 1.1 of this Agreement: “Cause” has the meaning specified in the Employment Agreement. | ||
Additional Definitions: | | For purposes of this Agreement: “Employment Agreement” means the Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement between you and the Company, effective as of July 15, 2025, as the same may be amended from time to time. “Good Reason” has the meaning specified in the Employment Agreement. “Protected Termination” means a termination of your employment by the Company without Cause or by you for Good Reason in accordance with the terms of the Employment Agreement. | ||
12
“Release Condition” means your execution of, and delivery to the Company in accordance with the notice requirements of the Employment Agreement, a general release agreement in a form satisfactory to the Company and such release becoming irrevocable in accordance with its terms, in each case, no later than 55 days following the Employment Termination Date. | ||||
Vesting Terms Upon a Termination without Cause: | | Notwithstanding Section 3(a) of the Agreement, if your employment with the Company or a Subsidiary terminates on or after the Grant Date pursuant to a Protected Termination and the Release Conditions are timely met, a Pro Rata Portion (as defined below) of each remaining unvested Tranche will become vested and exercisable upon the Release Conditions being met. In each case, if the Release Conditions are not so timely met, any unvested Options will be forfeited. For purposes of this Agreement, a Pro Rata Portion shall be equal to the product of “A” multiplied by “B,” where “A” equals the number of Options in the applicable Tranche that are not vested on the Employment Termination Date, and “B” is a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of calendar days that have elapsed from July 15, 2025 through the Employment Termination Date plus an additional 365 calendar days, and the denominator of which is the number of days that have elapsed from July 15, 2025 through the Vesting Date of the applicable Tranche (in no event to exceed the total number of unvested Options in such Tranche as of the Employment Termination Date). | ||
| | | ||
Post-Termination without Cause Exercise Period: | | Notwithstanding Section 7(b)(i) of the Agreement, if your employment with the Company or a Subsidiary is terminated pursuant to a Protected Termination and the Release Conditions are timely met, those Options which are then exercisable (after taking into account the applicable accelerated vesting treatment) shall remain exercisable for the period of time beginning on the Employment Termination Date and continuing for the number of days that is equal to the sum of (i) 90, plus (ii) 180 multiplied by your total Years of Continuous Service. | ||
| | | ||
Company Notice Address: | | GCI Liberty, Inc. 12300 Liberty Boulevard Englewood, Colorado 80112 Attn: Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer | ||
13
Company Website: | | www.gciliberty.com |
Plan Access: | | You can access the Plan via the link at the end of the Agreement or by contacting GCI Liberty, Inc.’s Legal Department. |
14