Sopheon plc (“Sopheon” or “the Company”) announces that the Company has granted 94,000 options over ordinary shares of 20 pence each in the share capital of the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) (“Options”) to certain directors. These grants are part of a wider grant of 233,704 Options, to both new and existing staff members. Of this total, 4,000 Options have been granted to new employees.
The remaining 229,704 Options have been granted to employees that have been with the Company for five years or longer. This second category represents the replacement of Options previously granted to these employees between 2004 and 2008. As part of this event, the previous Options are being cancelled. Accordingly, this category can be considered as replacement or continuation of Options in existence at the last balance sheet date. Of the directors, Barry Mence has been granted 18,125 replacement Options, Andrew Michuda has been granted 49,000 and Arif Karimjee has been granted 26,875. Following this grant, Barry Mence has 24,250 Options in total, Andrew Michuda has 199,880 and Arif Karimjee has 57,500.
The Options granted will vest over 3 years, and are exercisable up to 10 years from the date of grant. The exercise price of the Options is 85 pence per share, being the mid-market closing price on AIM on 5 December 2013. Following this grant, the Company now has a total of 623,789 Options in issue, representing 8.6 per cent of the current issued share capital of the Company.
Chairman Barry Mence said: “This is the second such grant as we continue the process of improving the alignment of staff incentives with corporate goals, with new vesting conditions designed to encourage continued commitment to the Company.”
In addition, Stuart Silcock is the executor and is a beneficiary of an estate that owns 500 Ordinary Shares. On 5 December 2013 these Ordinary Shares were transferred into his personal account for no consideration and are now held jointly for himself and the other beneficiary by way of declaration of trust. Following this transfer, Stuart Silcock’s total shareholding is 52,000 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.7% per cent of the issued share capital of the Company. Stuart Silcock also holds £200,000 of convertible loan stock, which has a conversion price of £1 per Ordinary Share, and is a minority shareholder in Inkberrow Limited, a company which owns 115,500 Ordinary Shares.
For Further Information Contact:
| Barry Mence, Chairman | Sopheon plc | + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 |
| Arif Karimjee, CFO | Sopheon plc | + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 |
| Charlotte Stranner / Victoria Bates | finnCap | + 44 (0) 20 7600 1658 |
| Heather Armstrong | Newgate Threadneedle | + 44 (0) 20 7653 9842 |
| Claire Verhagen | Citigate First Financial | + 31 (0) 205 754 010 |
About Sopheon
Sopheon (LSE: SPE) partners with customers to provide complete Enterprise Innovation Performance solutions including software, expertise, and best-practices to achieve exceptional long-term revenue growth and profitability. Sopheon’s Accolade® solution provides unique, fully-integrated coverage for the entire innovation management and new product development lifecycle. For the first time, businesses can access a single source of the truth across strategic innovation planning, roadmapping, idea and concept development, process and project management, portfolio management and resource planning. Sopheon’s solutions have been implemented by over 200 customers with over 60,000 users in over 50 countries. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Alternext Exchange in the Netherlands.