Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Stock-Based Compensation

v2.4.0.6
Stock-Based Compensation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Stock-Based Compensation
14. Stock-Based Compensation:

2004 Common Stock Option Plan:

On March 31, 2004, the Predecessor adopted its 2004 Common Stock Option Plan following Board of Director and shareholder approval. Grants under the 2004 Common stock Option Plan consisted of nonqualified stock options for the purchase of Class B Common Shares. The stock options issued under the 2004 Common Stock Option Plan were accounted for in a manner consistent with the underlying security. Therefore, the Class B Common Stock Options were adjusted to the fair value of the Class B Common shares less the strike price of the Class B Common shares adjusted for the proportion of employee service.

Compensation expense of $3,784 was recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the Predecessor five months ended May 28, 2010.

In connection with the Merger Transaction, the 2004 Common Stock Option Plan was terminated, and all options outstanding thereunder were cancelled with the holder receiving a per share amount in cash equal to the per share Merger Transaction consideration less the applicable exercise price.

Preferred Option Plan:

On March 31, 2004, certain members of the Predecessor Company’s management were granted options to purchase 9,555.5 shares of Class A Preferred Stock and 6,666.7 shares of Hillman Investment Company Class A Preferred Stock (collectively the “Preferred Options”). The Preferred Options were granted with an exercise price of one thousand dollars per share which was equal to the value of the underlying Preferred Stock. The Preferred Options were subject to vesting over five years with 20% vesting on each anniversary of the Merger Transaction. Holders of the Preferred Options were entitled to accrued dividends as if the underlying Preferred Stock were issued and outstanding as of the grant date.

Accounting guidance required that stock-based compensation awards are classified as liabilities if the underlying security is classified as a liability. Therefore, the Preferred Options were treated as liability classified awards.

Accounting guidance allows nonpublic entities, such as the Company, to make a policy decision as to whether to measure its liability awards at fair value or intrinsic value. The Company’s management has determined that the lack of an active market, trading restrictions and absence of any trading history preclude the reasonable estimate of fair value. Regardless of the valuation method selected, a nonpublic entity is required to re-measure its liabilities under share based payment awards at each reporting date until settlement. Accordingly, the Company elected to use the intrinsic value method to value the Preferred Options at the end of each reporting period pro-rated for the portion of the service period rendered. Compensation expense of $1,410 was recognized in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the Predecessor five month period ended May 28, 2010.

In connection with the Merger Transaction, the options to purchase shares of The Hillman Companies, Inc.’s and Hillman Investment Company’s Class A Preferred Stock were cancelled with the holder receiving a per share amount in cash equal to the per share Merger Transaction consideration less the applicable exercise price.

Class B Shares:

The outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock were subject to vesting over five years with 20% of the shares vesting on each anniversary of the Merger Transaction. Vested shares of the Class B Common Stock could be put back to the Company at fair value upon termination. Unvested shares of the Class B Common Stock could be put back to the Company at the lesser of fair value or cost. Accordingly, the value of the Class B common shares was adjusted at each balance sheet date to fair value for the proportion of consideration received in the form of employee service plus an amount equal to the lesser of fair value or original cost for the proportion of the Class B common shares for which employee service had not been recognized. The Class B common shares were fully vested as of March 31, 2009.

Compensation expense of $13,859 was recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the Predecessor five months ended May 28, 2010.

Upon consummation of the Merger Transaction, the Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior thereto was converted into the right to receive, in cash, a portion of the merger consideration in the Merger Transaction. Certain shares held by Company management were contributed by the holders thereof to Holdco in exchange for shares of Holdco.

OHCP HM Acquisition Corp. 2010 Stock Option Plan:

Effective May 28, 2010, Holdco established the OHCP HM Acquisition Corp. 2010 Stock Option Plan, as amended (the “Option Plan”), pursuant to which Holdco may grant options for up to an aggregate of 40,689 shares of its common stock. The Option Plan is administered by a committee of the Holdco board of directors. Such committee determines the terms of each option grant under the Option Plan, except that the exercise price of any granted option may not be lower than the fair market value of one share of common stock of Holdco as of the date of grant.

Under the Option Plan, the Company granted 32,284 options in 2010, 1,030 options in 2011 and 7,375 common options in 2012. The options were granted with an exercise price which was equal to the grant date fair value of the underlying securities.

Option holders are not required by the terms of the Option Agreement or the Stockholders Agreement to hold the shares for any period of time following exercise. Since the arrangement permits the holders to put the shares back without being exposed to the risks and rewards of the share for a reasonable period of time then liability classification is required. Consistent with past practice, the Company has elected to use the intrinsic value method to value the options.

 

Stock options granted to management under the Option Plan are divided into three equal vesting tranches. The first tranche is a service-based award which vests ratably over five years, subject to the optionee’s continued employment with the Company on each vesting date. The Company will recognize compensation costs for the portion of the awards that are service based over the requisite service period for each of the five separate vesting service periods. The second tranche is performance-based and vests ratably over five years, subject to both the optionee’s continued employment on each vesting date and the achievement of Company performance targets. Again, compensation costs will be recognized for the performance based awards over the requisite service period for each of the five separate vesting service periods. However, if achievement of the applicable performance target is not probable, no compensation cost will be recorded. The third tranche of each stock option grant is outcome-based and depends on OHCP receiving a certain rate of return upon a change in control, provided that the optionee is still employed by the Company at the time of such change in control. This provision would be viewed as having a performance condition due to the change in control requirement and that condition would only be probable at the time that the change in control occurred, and accordingly, the Company will not recognize compensation expense for the third tranche until a change in control is deemed to be probable.

The Company has elected to use the intrinsic value method to value the options at the end of each reporting period. The intrinsic value of the common shares exceeded the exercise price of the options at December 31, 2012, and therefore, compensation expense of $714 was recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2012. The intrinsic value of the common shares was equal to the exercise price at December 31, 2011 and 2010, and therefore, no compensation expense was recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2011 or the Successor seven month period ended December 31, 2010.