April 16, 2009
Equity Compensation Post-Meltdown
– Jim McRitchie, CorpGov.net
The financial markets have been in meltdown for months. Many stocks, including those of high tech companies in Silicon Valley, are down 50% – or more. Stock options are materially underwater. Should companies grant new equity to key employees? New options? New restricted stock units (RSUs)? What tax and accounting issues must be addressed? How will shareholders and gatekeepers (e.g., ISS/RiskMetrics) react? These were the topics of discussion on last month as the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors met. Here are notes from that panel discussion.