Two of Gannett's senior executives have sold nearly $800,000 worth of stock options they received as part of their annual pay, newly filed regulatory documents show.
Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital Ventures, netted $557,000 before any taxes when he sold 48,000 shares he received as options for 2008, a year when the company laid off about 3,000 employees during a period of massive cost-cutting. The options carried a so-called strike price of $3.75. He sold them for an average $15.36 each on Wednesday, according to this filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Todd Mayman, the company's top lawyer, sold 11,625 shares on Friday at an average price of $15.44 each, this SEC document says. The strike prices were $7.53 for one group of options, and $4.37 for a second group. All together, that netted him $119,603 before any taxes.
Options are a common form of executive compensation. They allow the recipient to pay a fixed amount -- the strike price -- for company shares, no matter how high the stock's price in the open market. They vest over a number of years, encouraging executives to remain with the company and help drive the stock price higher.
Beginning this year, the board of directors eliminated options in favor of direct stock grants.
GCI shares closed Friday at $15.41. So far this year, they have risen 15%, better than the 12% gain in the broader market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, according to Google Finance.
Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital Ventures, netted $557,000 before any taxes when he sold 48,000 shares he received as options for 2008, a year when the company laid off about 3,000 employees during a period of massive cost-cutting. The options carried a so-called strike price of $3.75. He sold them for an average $15.36 each on Wednesday, according to this filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Todd Mayman, the company's top lawyer, sold 11,625 shares on Friday at an average price of $15.44 each, this SEC document says. The strike prices were $7.53 for one group of options, and $4.37 for a second group. All together, that netted him $119,603 before any taxes.
Options are a common form of executive compensation. They allow the recipient to pay a fixed amount -- the strike price -- for company shares, no matter how high the stock's price in the open market. They vest over a number of years, encouraging executives to remain with the company and help drive the stock price higher.
Beginning this year, the board of directors eliminated options in favor of direct stock grants.
GCI shares closed Friday at $15.41. So far this year, they have risen 15%, better than the 12% gain in the broader market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, according to Google Finance.
We do not give a rats about these clowns Jim. Is this all you got?
ReplyDeleteAny chance either of these 1%ers will direct their profits towards hiring back some of the veteran talent thrown under the bus in the last 4 years?
ReplyDeleteNAH!
From 2000-2004 GCI replaced the SRI (stock reserve incentive) program with options as incentives. Strike price for the shares I received during those years averaged about $55 a share. Guess what those options are worth to me right now?
ReplyDeleteI respectfully disagree, 11:10.
ReplyDeleteI think that watching executive and board stock trades tells you something very important about the future of the company. And these folks need to know that they are being watched.
Sell! Sell! And sock away that money so that you can live off interest when you grab the golden parachute and bail. No, folks, these people are not job creators. They are on top and will step on your fingers should you try to pull yourself up.
ReplyDeleteGood reporting Jim. I think it's important we know what these guys are doing with their stock. COuld be an indication of the direction of the company.
ReplyDelete$800,000 is equivalent 20 $40,000 employees for a year.
ReplyDeleteTake their leads, friends. Run past the porpoise wall and head for the hills as fast as you can.
ReplyDeleteWhy are we giving so many options to Williams? And what is the purpose of incentivizing our legal counsel with stock options? He already gets a bonus.
ReplyDeleteNOT GOOD
ReplyDeleteIf there was a simple,clear explanation for these sales -- OK. Like buying a house, or college costs, or simple diversification. Like Bill Gates, who announced a long time ago, he would sell shares, every quarter, to diversify his risk to MSFT.
Not good, IMHO. Or amateurish, which is epidemic at GCI.
CORRECT
ReplyDeleteYes, that makes absolute sense. And why did they NOT make that clear to everyone?
Amateurs. Bumblers. Yahoos.
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" .. Their option strike prices, their expected GCI growth rate and their respective expiration windows for those options obviously led both to conclusions that it’s a good time to do it .."
Lowering the lifeboats, gentlemen?
ReplyDeleteWHY NOW?
ReplyDeleteNot lifeboats.
Financial logic. If Mr. Obama is re-elected, taxes for stockholders will go up. Period.
Gannettoids just not smart enough as "media executives" to explain it. Dumber than rocks.
Grim, fucking grim, with these tools.
Can anyone name one thing either has done to boost the bottom line? Willaims, in particular?
ReplyDeleteI got options on 100 purpose walls. mo money, mo money!
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