News today that Steve Jobs has just exercised some long-held options worth at least $14.5 million. On Monday, the "Great Leader" exercised 120,000 options that were set to expire this week. Apple gave Jobs the options with a strike price of $5.75 a share, in August 1997 when he rejoined the company's board as part of his return to Apple. Because the stock was around $129.00 a share Monday, Jobs' total gain at the time of exercise was between $14.5 million and $14.8 million. Not bad, Steverino!
This is the first action Jobs has taken with his Apple holdings since last year when he gave back 4.6 million restricted shares worth about $296 million to the company. That was used to pay the taxes on the vesting of the 10 million-share grant they were a part of. Jobs has put the remaining 5.4 million shares of the grant, in his humongous piggy bank.
Apple gave Jobs the restricted shares in exchange for options that it canceled and which the company later admitted were backdated. The company's internal investigation into its past options granting practices found no evidence that any options granted in 1997 were backdated. Yeah... Big surprise!
Which I think means he gets a shitload of stock dirt cheap, and even though the company takes the hit for all this backdating of options shit... You Steve, are a God and above reproach.
George Parker
Blogging for:
Member since: 03 Jun 2008
Last login: 17 Nov 2009
Total Posts: 831
