Google online auctions for employee stock options
Published December 13th, 2006
GOOG is a powerful recruiting incentive for Google. Google is now embarking on an innovative online auction process enabling Googlers to sell vested stock options:
Under the Transferable Stock Option program, employees will still be able to exercise their options, but will also be able to sell their options to financial institutions as an alternative.
Google underscores that the program is a novel way to compensate people and says it will “increase the efficiency of Google’s equity compensation by increasing the per-option value of employee stock options.”
The auction will be managed by Morgan Stanley. Smith Barney will serve as the employee stock option administrator. Google is working with multiple financial institutions to participate as bidders in the auction.
If an employee chooses to sell options in the program, the Googler will use an internal online tool built by Morgan Stanley to sell them to the highest-bidding financial institution. The financial institutions buying the options will then likely hold them until maturity and then settle with Google, according to Google.
