Billionaire Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel Pledges Stock Options Worth $355 Million To Undisclosed Charitable CausesModerna CEO
Stéphane Bancel, a veteran biotech executive whose fortune swelled during the Covid-19 pandemic, disclosed he would exercise stock options, originally granted in 2013 and set to expire in August 2023, to acquire
nearly 4.6 million shares at a price of $0.99 apiece, a nearly 100% discount to current prices of about $138.
Bancel, who joined Moderna in 2011, said in an accompanying blog post the
donated shares would amount to roughly $355 million at current prices — after deducting about $280 million in state and federal tax payments.
To avoid a large-scale transaction that potentially impacts the price of Moderna shares, Bancel said he would set up a trading plan in which he exercises
80,000 shares each week, beginning on Wednesday, until the options are fully exercised around June of next year.
