Business News

Schibsted ASA (SCH) – Allotment of options 2009

Monday 12. October 2009 - Since 2000 Schibsted ASA has had an annual rolling option programme for key personnel in the Group. The Annual General Meeting on May 15th 2009 decided to continue the existing option programme in 2009, with the same total number of options for allotment as in 2008 - 198,750 options.

The Board of Directors has now decided to carry out the option allotment according to the decision on the Annual General Meeting May 15th 2009. Of the total 198,750 options included in the options programme, 150,000 are allotted.

The objective of the options programme is to promote long-term value creation by contributing to increased ownership by key managers of the Schibsted Group and to ensure that the management and shareholders have common interests due to their share ownership.

The main terms of the options programme are as follows:
The allotment price and the exercise price for the options allotted in 2009 is NOK 64.10. The price is determined according on the options programme rules, based on the average stock price one week prior to and one week after May 15th 2009 (the public announcement of the results for Q1 2009),

The exercise price is the same throughout the accrual period and the exercise period. Right to exercise options normally occurs after a 3 years accrual period. The exercise has to take place within the two years following the accrual period.

The option programme constitutes an obligation to reinvest. When option-holders sell shares acquired by exercising options, they must use at least 50 % of the net gain after tax to acquire further shares in Schibsted. These shares can not be sold until at least three years after they were bought.

There is a maximum gain that the option holders can achieve per share. The maximum annual gain has been set to 35 %. With 2009 allotment price of NOK 64.10, the highest price an option can be exercised at is NOK 157.71, which equals a gain of NOK 93.61 per option share.

The terms are in accordance with the Board of Directors’ Declaration regarding the determination of salary and other remuneration to managers of Schibsted ASA and previous years practice.

The following primary insiders are included in the allotment of options in 2009:


Number of
Tot. no. of
Shares
Position
Name
options allotted
options
Including close associates
CEO
Rolv Erik Ryssdal
30,000
60,000
7,102
EVP/CFO
Trond Berger
15,000
75,000
15,828
EVP
Sverre Munck
15,000
75,000
13,912
EVP
Gunnar Strömblad
15,000
67,500
7,052
Head of Legal Affairs
Camilla Jarlsby
7,500
7,500
203
Senior Vice President
Cathrine Foss Stene
7,500
15,000
1,713
CEO VG
Torry Pedersen
7,500
15,000
394
Editor-in-Chief VG
Bernt Olufsen
7,500
37,500
16,846

The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting in 2010 an adjustment of the value dilution that occurs as a consequence of the rights issue that Schibsted carried out during the summer 2009. The adjustment will be proposed according to the Derivatives rules of Oslo Stock Exchange, for the options allotted in 2009 and in previous years.