Apple Computer chief executive Steve Jobs was awarded 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the required authorization from the company's board of directors, according to a news report published Wednesday evening.
Those records are now among the pieces of evidence being weighed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as it decides whether to pursue criminal charges against the company or its officials, the report added.
The stark allegation is the second in as many days related to the ongoing stock-options fiasco currently encompassing the Silicon Valley icon. It arrives on the heels of a similar report of falsified stock-options documents reported by The Recorder on Tuesday.
In its report, the Financial Times points to an Apple filing in 2002 which stated the options under review were handed to Jobs in October 2001, at an exercise price of $18.30 a share.
"However," the publication wrote, "the purported board authorisation was dated near the end of the year, suggesting that the benefits were both not properly authorised and were backdated."
Although Jobs later surrendered those options before they were exercised — implying that he did not benefit from them — he was later handed 10 million split-adjusted shares as a replacement.
In October, a financial columnist argued that while Jobs did not directly benefit from the initial grant, he did so on the ensuing exchange because the value of the 10 million shares were themselves based on favorably chosen "backdated" dates.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told the Associated Press on Wednesday that company has turned over to the Securities and Exchange Commission the results of its internal investigation into its historical stock options granting practices, but would not comment further.
Those results are expected to be disclosed in much detail as part of Apple's delayed 10-K for fiscal 2006, now due on Friday.
50 Comments
This all seems to be much ado about nothing. Just another chance for the pigeons to get spooked and sell so that the falcons can swoop in and grab cheap shares.
This all seems to be much ado about nothing. Just another chance for the pigeons to get spooked and sell so that the falcons can swoop in and grab cheap shares.
Yeah. Or it could be the slow tightening of the noose. Hope not.
I guess it's best to wait until Friday to see the full show, but the details emerging seem to make this a bit more complicated than before.
Since I know nothing about financial law maybe someone in the know can tell us what this means ... is Steve going to jail and thus Apple is doomed?
Apple stock holders:
BIG SELL OFF ON APPLE! [STOP]
JOBS GOING TO JAIL! [STOP]
IMACS SCREENS ACROSS THE COUNTRY FREEZE! [STOP]
PANIC!!! [STOP]
SELL, SELL, SELL! [STOP]
I can't wait to see the sell off tomorrow so that I can load up on cheap Apple stock. Jobs is fine since it will be damn near impossible to prove that Jobs ordered back-dating. Slap on the wrist.
Coming soon:
Ipod Phone
Next Gen Ipod
more Mac growth
The panic of the masses tomorrow will be the wealth of the cool few the next day.