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Private company clients frequently ask us about granting compensatory stock options to their founders, employees and other service providers, including board members, consultants and advisors. Options and other equity awards...more
This article is the second in our series on equity-based compensation intended to assist employers with answering a common question: What type of equity compensation award is best for our company and our employees?...more
Our startup clients are sometimes asked by investors or government agencies to provide their number of authorized and issued shares—the difference between the two isn’t always obvious but is critical to understand....more
Process still matters. That’s the main takeaway from the Delaware Court of Chancery’s 200-page opinion striking down Tesla’s 2018 incentive package awarded to Elon Musk. The court rescinded the incentive package mainly...more
Attached please find the updated Foreign Listed Stock Index Futures and Options Approvals Chart, current as of December 19, 2023. All prior versions are superseded and should be discarded. Please note the following...more
If you’re reading this, chances are this is not the first time you’ve heard of the 83(b) election (and if it is, then definitely keep reading). The “83” in “83(b) election” refers to Section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code,...more
The enactment of Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) Section 409A has resulted in significant challenges for private companies that award employee stock options. Under the final Treasury regulations, stock options that are...more
Given the significant decline in the stock prices of many companies over the past several months of 2022, a number of companies are reassessing their equity programs and considering repricing outstanding employee stock...more
In this time of market volatility, White & Case LLP partners Colin Diamond (Chair of US Public Company Advisory) and Henrik Patel (Global Head of Employment, Compensation and Benefits) address the securities law, tax and...more
Stock options are how cash-starved tech, and life sciences companies large and small can most easily recruit and retain talent. Stock options are also an excellent tool for bigtech and bigpharma companies to align the...more
We often encounter questions relating to the fair market value of a private company for granting stock options where the company has experienced an event, such as receiving a signed term sheet, which almost certainly will...more
For many public corporations, employee stock options have historically represented the "holy grail" of equity-based employee compensation. While providing an opportunity for employees to share in their employer's growth in a...more
Stock options can provide a much-needed component of compensation for startup employees. Different types of equity compensation have different tax consequences with costs and benefits to the company and its employees. This...more
This is the 3rd major economic upheaval we have had in 20 some years, and once again we have a climate of widespread business uncertainty, employment instability, and economic suffering. Most of our clients have experienced...more
Requirement to Report - For (1) any exercise of an incentive stock option (ISO) during 2019 or (2) transfer during 2019 of a share previously purchased pursuant to a tax-qualified employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), the...more
Attached please find the updated Foreign Listed Stock Index Futures and Options Approvals Chart, current as of October 29, 2019. All prior versions are superseded and should be discarded. Please note that since we last...more
Attached please find the updated Foreign Listed Stock Index Futures and Options Approvals Chart, current as of September 1, 2019. All prior versions are superseded and should be discarded. Please note the following...more
Private companies grant stock options to their employees as a way to retain and motivate them and to reward their employees for the company’s success. Included below are five common mistakes we have come across....more
The Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2018-97 on December 7, providing initial guidance for the new Section 83(i) of the Internal Revenue Code (Section 83(i)) enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The notice principally...more
On Friday, December 15, 2017, Congress put forth a final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which would signify the largest piece of tax legislation in over thirty years if signed into law. Early in the morning on December...more
On June 22, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed changes to the regulations under the Internal Revenue Code (Code) §409A. The Code intends to clarify or modify a wide range of very restrictive rules...more
In Fox v. CDX Holdings, Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery held that option holders could not be burdened by an escrow imposed on equity holders in a merger transaction when the terms of the option plan did not permit the...more
On July 7, 2015, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance issued guidance (TSB-M-15(4)C, (5)I, Investment Capital Identification Requirements for Article 9-A Taxpayers) on the identification procedures for investment...more
The Corporation Law Section of the Delaware Bar has approved, substantially as proposed, the amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law proposed by the Delaware Bar’s Corporation Law Council regarding fee-shifting...more
Mobile Internet usage is predicted to grow faster in the next few years, making online or web based businesses great opportunities. A leading forecaster found that global mobile internet usage leapt from 14 percent to 25...more