Repricing Wave?

Lots of companies are looking at some form of repricing their underwater stock options. VM Ware, Tenet Healthcare, Marvel Technology, Integrated Silicon Solutions, and Maxim Solutions are among the estimated 50 or so companies that have repriced through December. Typically, employees surrender existing options worth a certain amount or more in exchange for a lesser number of new awards with the same current value. RiskMetrics' Patrick McGurn says the investment advisory service is not necessarily opposed to reissuing awards that have long been underwater, but he thinks most companies should just "take two aspirin" and wait several months to make any decisions. A good story on this can be found at this link.