What Non-US Startups Need to Know About Granting Stock Options
What Every Start Up Should Know About Stock Options
Common Equity Plan Pitfalls
Why is a 409A Valuation Important?
Early Exercise Stock Options
Nowotny on Death and Taxes Episode 6 Surfs Up Dude! High Tech Tax Solutions for High Tech Workers
Episode 26: Talking Tax Reform and Executive Comp
Startups often cannot pay the high salaries of larger companies. By offering stock options, however, they can build competitive compensation packages that align employee and shareholder interests. To help startups and small...more
Good news! The second chamber (Bundesrat) has now paved the way for the eagerly awaited and much-debated inclusion of a group privilege in sec. 19a of the German Income Tax Act (“EStG”). German start-ups that have done the...more
Much has been written about the unsatisfactory tax situation of German employees when it comes to equity-based employee stock (option) programs ("ESOP"). Historically, employees were taxed at the time of issuance of shares...more
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
Though more commonly associated with publicly listed companies, tender offer rules and regulations apply to private company transactions as well. Tender offers provide a mechanism for a prospective investor, or the company...more
Is the issuance of shares upon exercise of a stock option distinguishable from the issuance of the option? The answer under California's Corporate Securities Law of 1968 may surprise some. Corporations Code Section 25017...more
The Israel Tax Authority’s May 2023 guidelines state that, under particular circumstances, investments via SAFEs (simple agreement for future equity) will be considered an advance on a share investment account. That being the...more
On May 3, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to Item 703 of Regulation S-K which were proposed in December 2021 as part of the SEC’s goal of “improving the quality, relevance and timeliness” of...more
As a result of recent market trends, US public companies and their compensation committees face challenging decisions as they seek to maximize shareholder value while retaining and competitively incentivizing key employees....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
Given the recent volatility in the national markets, the stock prices of many publicly-traded companies have declined significantly, resulting in an increasing number of service providers holding underwater stock...more
The requirements under Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules applicable to share option schemes will also govern share award schemes under the amendments that will become effective 1 January 2023. Both share option schemes...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
May a California corporation issue shares that are convertible ex proprio motu into shares of any other class or series or any other of its securities? The answer is "yes" but only if that right is provided in the articles...more
There a lot of matters to consider when a European company decides it wants to open operations in the U.S., and one common structure for doing so is anecdotally known as a “flip”—inserting a U.S. corporation above a European...more
Shareholders' agreements in closely held corporations frequently grant the corporation and/or the other shareholders the right to repurchase a shareholder's shares if the shareholder ceases to be an employee of the company. ...more
INTRODUCTION - Companies — public and private — have suffered steep declines in value in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The declines have caused many employee stock options to become “underwater”— in some cases,...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
Quick: Does your company have any insiders who either now or in the future may own $90 million or more in company stock? The CEO? The founder? A member of the board? If so, then now is the time for a crash course in the...more
Reith v. Lichtenstein, C.A. No. 2018-0277-MTZ (Del. Ch. June 28, 2019). As Reith explains, directors may lose the protections of the business judgment rule and expose themselves to liability if they knowingly or...more
UK Case Law Developments - Damages on share sales same as on other sales - In Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd v ING Bank NV, the Commercial Court has held that the measure of damages for breach of warranty in...more
The following is an update to an important Delaware case relating to the applicable standard of review for challenged actions involving the setting of director compensation. ...more
California Labor Code Section 407 may be a bit of a surprise to many lawyers both in and outside of the state. It provides: Investments and the sale of stock or an interest in a business in connection with the securing of a...more
IRS audits signal focus on Section 409A compliance; Revenue Ruling makes certain nonqualified options and stock appreciation rights more attractive for offshore entities. The IRS has begun its limited audit initiative...more