Granting of stock options

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The Board of Directors of Marel hf. resolved on 5 February 2021 to grant to employees up to 4,831,000 shares through stock option agreements, thereof 1,505,000 to the Executive Team. The stock options will be granted to the Executive Team and to selected employees in strategic positions.

The aim of the stock option agreements is to align long-term interests of employees and of the Company. The key terms and conditions of the new stock option program were approved by Marel’s Annual General Meeting on 6 March 2019 in accordance with the Company's Remuneration Policy as approved at Marel’s Annual General Meeting on 18 March 2020. Key terms and conditions of the agreements are as follows:

  • The stock option agreements entitle purchase of shares at the base exercise price of EUR 5.70 per share.* The exercise price shall be adjusted for any dividend payments decided after the grant date.
  • One vesting period of 3 years. Exercise periods are four per year following the quarterly disclosure of financial results. First exercise period will be following the publication of the full year 2023 results in Q1 2024. Option holders can delay exercise of these options to Q1 2025, when the agreements expire and all unexercised options are cancelled.
  • Marel’s Executive Team members are required to hold shares, corresponding to the net profit gained from the options (after tax) until the following holding requirements are reached, measured in total share value owned as a multiple of annual base salary: CEO three times; other members of the Executive Team two times.
  • Other option holders are not subject to holding requirements.
  • The options are valid only if the holder is still employed by Marel group (Marel hf. or its subsidiaries) at the time of vesting.

The total number of unexercised stock options granted by Marel hf., including this new stock option scheme, currently amounts to 23.1 million shares corresponding to approximately 3.0% of total issued share capital. The Company’s cost of the new share option scheme is estimated to be approximately EUR 4.38 million over the next 3 years based on the option pricing model of Black-Scholes.

Details of the share options granted to Marel´s Executive Team:

Name

Title

New stock options

Older granted and unexercised options

Shareholding of insider

Shareholding of financially related parties

Árni Oddur Þórðarson

Chief Executive Officer

400,000

1,952,000

72,643**

67,235

Linda Jónsdóttir

Chief Financial Officer

 215,000

 1,350,000

 339,817

0

Árni Sigurðsson

Chief Strategy Officer and EVP Strategic Business Units

215,000

1,640,000

117,317

100,000

Roger Claessens

Executive Vice President Poultry

 150,000

 450,000

0

0

David Wilson

Executive Vice President Meat

 105,000

 1,157,000

195,857

0

Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir

Executive Vice President Fish

 105,000

 240,000

0

0

Folkert Bölger

Executive Vice President Global Supply Chain

 105,000

 700,000

17,862

0

Ulrika Lindberg

Executive Vice President Global Markets and Service

 105,000

 450,000

 0

0

Anna Kristín Pálsdóttir

Executive Vice President Innovation

 105,000

 267,000

0

0

 

The exercise price is determined by the closing rate of Marel shares at Euronext Amsterdam on 5 February 2021, i.e. EUR 5.70 per share.

**Primary insider holds 17.9% of total share capital of Eyrir Invest hf., which is Marel‘s largest shareholder. 


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