Unscheduled stock options to target CEOs are a non-trivial phenomenon during private merger negotiations. In 920 acquisition bids during 1999-2007, over 13% of targets grant them. These options substitute for golden parachutes and compensate target CEOs for benefits they forfeit because of the...

In response to corporate governance concerns, SEC disclosure rules, and encouragement by Institutional Shareholder Services, most large U.S. public firms have adopted executive stock ownership requirements in recent years. Compared to CEOs already in compliance, CEOs who have not yet fulfilled...