Entercom seeks shareholder OK for stock-option exchange program - 25 Mar 2009
Entercom seeks shareholder OK for stock-option exchange program |
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
March 25, 2009
by Mike Armstrong (an excerpt)
After the tech stock bubble burst in 2000, lots of companies were
blasted for repricing stock options awarded to their employees. Care to
guess what's going on now? 114 companies, including Google and Intel
have proposed or completed plans to permit exchanges of "underwater"
options since early 2008. Options are said to be underwater when the
current market price is lower than the option exercise price. In a
repricing, companies are offering a do-over: Replacing worthless
options with others pegged at lower prices. At least shareholders now
have a say. Since 2003, the New York Stock Exchange has required listed
companies to put repricings up for a vote. This spring, we're seeing
lots of those, including one from Entercom Communications Corp., the
radio station operator based in Bala Cynwyd.
Given the trillions of dollars of wealth destruction in the stock
market over the last year, shareholders are "going to be skeptical" of
options exchange programs, said David Wise, senior consultant in the New York office of Hay Group.
more...http://www.haygroup.com/us/press/Details.aspx?ID=15354