SEBL STOCK OPTIONS OVERHANG
I have also recently discovered that as of the end of Q3, September 30, 2002, that SEBL had an options overhang at an outrageous 74% of outstanding shares, triple that of the average technology company, and five times that of the average company as of the end of calendar year 2001.
Message 18489975
Sebl's option overhang percentage has increased over the 2002 calendar year to September 30, 2002, from the 68% stock options overhang (reported by Business Week) at the end of 2001, when SEBL then had the third highest stock option overhang in the country. Tom's recent offer to forego exercising 26 million options would only drop the company's options overhang number back down to 69%, still higher than it was when SEBL ranked third in the country.
Business Week rankings for companies with highest stock options overhangs:
business2.com
Research and consulting firm Watson Wyatt, who as executive pay compensation consultants, I generally find to lean towards being stock option apologists, are now suggesting that a 15% options overhang is the optimal number (sweet spot) for a tech company to maximize shareholder return. At 74%, Sebl is five times the liberal Watson and Wyatt's reported "sweet spot", and Sebl's high percentage, according to the Watson Wyatt studies, is likely to foretell continued poor stock price performance by Sebl.
cfo.com
My own opinion is that both Tom and the BOD of SEBL have showed a continuing, knowing and purposeful disregard for the interests of outside shareholders with these outrageous stock option grants, and that with such a poor record of taking their fiduciary responsibilities to outside shareholders seriously, that this company is better off shunned or taken to the woodshed. (However, this is not to say that Sebl's stock price can't rally <g>).
JMO, Huey
P.S. The weighted average exercise price for SEBL's 194,205,326 options outstanding as of September 30, 2002 is $18.06 per share. Source: 3rd QTR 10Q |
