“Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs will receive 5 million restricted shares in exchange for 27.5 million stock options.”
“Unlike options which require paying a ‘strike price,’ the restricted shares will become Jobs’ at no cost to him after three years. The old options required Jobs to pay more for the shares than he would on the open market, company spokeswoman Lynn Fox said.”
“The computer maker’s shares have dropped 80 percent from their peak three years ago as the worldwide economic slowdown reduced demand for personal computers. Like neighboring technology companies Adobe Systems and Siebel Systems, Apple’s directors also voted Wednesday to allow employees outside of management to exchange overpriced stock options for new ones.”
“Apple shares fell 4 cents to $14.91 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Employees with options to buy shares at a price of $25 or more will be allowed to exchange them for a lesser number of new options, whose price will be set at the market level six months and a day after the old ones are handed in, the company said,” as reported by MercuryNews.com.
