Clear Channel hands out stock options

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The end of 2010 brought stock option grants to three key employees at Clear Channel Communications. The official notices were filed Tuesday (1/4) with the SEC.


The biggest grant went to CFO Tom Casey. He got options to purchase 250,000 shares of Clear Channel’s parent company, CC Media Holdings. The options, with an exercise price of $10, vest over four years in 25% installments, beginning December 31, 2010.

Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan was granted 170,000 options on the same terms and schedule.

Lastly, CC Media Holdings/Clear Channel Communications Executive Vice President and General Counsel Robert Walls was granted 100,000 options. They also vest in the four installments with a $10 exercise price.

RBR-TVBR observation: The trio of execs will now have to work to get CC Media’s stock price up – and keep it up – so that their options are in the money. As of this week those options have been worthless, since the last trade for the stock (on New Year’s Eve) was at $9.00. The stock has been at $10.00 or better a few times in recent weeks, but getting barely above ten bucks isn’t the objective – the options are only worth the difference between the exercise price and what they’ll bring in the public market.