Google Employee Allowed To Auction Stock Options

About Transferable Stock Options at the Official Google Blog covers how
Google is now allowing most of its employees to auction off their stock options
to financial institutions through a bidding process. Previously, employees could
either hold their options or sell them directly themselves. The idea is that the
bidding process might help employees get a better price on their shares than if
they sold directly, if particular institutions wanted to pay a premium. That’s
especially helpful for employees with options to purchase shares at a price
higher or near some of Google’s current record level prices.

Google sets up options market from the San Jose Mercury News explains more
about how for some periods in 2006, stock options were worthless to some
Googlers because the cost to exercise them was more than the current price. From
the story:

For example, an employee with an option to buy Google at $500 a share might
think the option was worthless on a day, like Tuesday, when the stock closed
at $481.78.

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