Yesterday, Google announced an innovative program, called the Transferable Stock Option (TSO), to allow employees to auction off their eligible stock options to financial institutions.
Morgan Stanley will coordinate the auctioning in TSO, which will take effect the second quarter of 2007. Only options issued after Google went public are eligible and Google’s Executive Management Group will be excluded from participation. Options transfered under the TSO will be valid for two years or at the conclusion set in the original grant terms, which ever is first.
Henry Blodget asks: If anyone has figured out the drawbacks of Google’s new transferable option plan, please weigh in, because at first glance it looks like a win all around. (Which begs the question: Why haven’t other companies done this? Why does Google seem to be the only Valley company dead-set on innovating?)