Share-Based Compensation |
11.Share-Based Compensation The Company’s 2021 Incentive Equity Plan (the “Plan”) provides that the aggregate number of common shares reserved for future issuance under the Plan as of June 30, 2024, is 56,634,518 common shares, including 12,262,348 shares added to the Plan in January 2024 pursuant to the Plan’s automatic annual increase provision, provided that 2,243,853 of the outstanding common shares shall only be available for awards made to non-employee directors of the Company. On the first day of each fiscal year from 2022 to 2031, the number of common shares that may be issued pursuant to the Plan is automatically increased by an amount equal to the lesser of 4% of the number of outstanding common shares or an amount determined by the board of directors. Share-based awards consisting of Restricted Share Units (STIP and LTIP) and options granted by TMC have been issued under the 2021 Incentive Equity Plan. Stock options On April 9, 2024, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Mr. Jurvetson, a director of the Company (the “Agreement”). The Agreement provides, among other things, that Mr. Jurvetson would serve as a special advisor to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer for a term of five years. As the sole compensation for his advisory services, Mr. Jurvetson was granted stock options to purchase 3,440,000 of the Company’s common shares, with an exercise price equal to $1.71, under the Company’s 2021 Incentive Plan (“Incentive Plan”). The options vest in thirds on each anniversary of the grant date of the options provided that Mr. Jurvetson is still providing services to the Company at such time and expire on April 9, 2031. On April 9, 2024, the Company also granted stock options to purchase 500,000 shares to a consultant in exchange for advisory services over a 5-year period ending April 9, 2029. The Company determined the fair value of the options to be $1.36 per unit using the Black-Scholes valuation method. The fair value was estimated using the following assumptions: | | | | | | April 9, | | | 2024 | Exercise price | | $ | 1.71 | Share price | | $ | 1.71 | Volatility | | | 114.32% | Term(1) | | | 4.5 years | Risk-free rate | | | 4.29% | Dividend yield | | | 0.0% |
| (1) | The expected term is estimated using the simplified method which is calculated as the average of the time to vest for each tranche from the grant date and the 7-year contractual term. |
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recognized $0.4 million of share-based compensation expense reported as general and administrative expenses in the statement of loss and comprehensive loss. As at June 30, 2024, there were 14,443,188 stock options outstanding under the Company’s Short-Term Incentive Plan (“STIP”) and 9,644,874 stock options outstanding under the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”). The Company has not granted any options under the STIP and LTIP since September 9, 2021 (date of the Business Combination) and has fully recognized the fair value of the options issued in prior periods under the STIP and LTIP. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded the forfeiture of unvested stock options (issued under LTIP plans) thereby reversing $0.6 million previously recorded as share-based compensation expense in the statement of loss and comprehensive loss (six months ended June 30, 2023: $nil), evenly apportioned between exploration and evaluation expenses (Note 8) and general and administration expenses. A continuity schedule summarizing the movements in the Company’s stock options under the various plans is as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | Number of | | | Number of | | Number of | | Options | | | Options | | Options | | Outstanding | | | Outstanding | | Outstanding | | under | | | under STIP | | under LTIP | | Incentive Plan | Outstanding – December 31, 2022 | | 15,356,340 | | 9,783,922 | | — | Expired | | (162,100) | | — | | — | Exercised | | (120,000) | | — | | — | Outstanding – December 31, 2023 | | 15,074,240 | | 9,783,922 | | — | Granted | | — | | — | | 3,940,000 | Forfeited | | — | | (139,048) | | — | Exercised | | (631,052) | | — | | — | Outstanding – June 30, 2024 | | 14,443,188 | | 9,644,874 | | 3,940,000 |
Restricted Share Units (“RSU”) The Company may, from time to time, grant RSUs to directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries under the Plan. On each vesting date, RSU holders are issued common shares equivalent to the number of RSUs held provided the holder is providing service to the Company on such vesting date. A summary of the RSU activity during the six-month period ended June 30, 2024 is presented in the table below: | | | | | Number of RSUs | | | Outstanding | Outstanding – December 31, 2023 | | 12,484,880 | Granted | | 32,414,380 | Forfeited | | (247,560) | Exercised | | (8,890,139) | Outstanding – June 30, 2024 | | 35,761,561 |
The details of RSUs granted by the Company during the three months and six months ended June 30, 2024 are as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | Three months | | Three months | | Six months | | Six months | | | ended June 30, | | ended June 30, | | ended June 30, | | ended June 30, | Vesting Period | | 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2023 | Vesting Immediately(1)(2) | | 206,260 | | — | | 4,006,695 | | 3,237,710 | Vesting fully on the first anniversary of the grant date (3) | | 476,189 | | 1,014,349 | | 493,430 | | 1,014,349 | Vesting in thirds on each anniversary of the grant date(4) | | 68,027 | | — | | 7,212,375 | | 8,683,486 | Vesting in fourths on each anniversary of the grant date | | 701,880 | | — | | 701,880 | | 343,750 | Vesting based on market conditions (5) | | 20,000,000 | | — | | 20,000,000 | | — | Total Units Granted | | 21,452,356 | | 1,014,349 | | 32,414,380 | | 13,279,295 |
| 1. | Of the 4,006,695 RSUs vesting immediately on grant date, 2,812,802 RSUs were issued to settle liabilities with a carrying amount of $4.1 million, at a weighted average grant date fair value of $1.44 per RSU. |
| 2. | Of the 206,260 RSUs vesting immediately on the grant date issued during the three months ended June 30, 2024, the Company granted 140,260 RSUs, to consultants (three months ended June 30, 2023: nil) resulting in $0.2 million, charged as general and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (three ended June 30, 2023: nil). Of the 4,006,695 RSUs vesting immediately on the grant date issued during the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company granted 186,593 RSUs, to consultants (six months ended June 30, 2023: 23,438 RSUs) resulting in $0.3 million, charged as general and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024 (six months ended June 30, 2023: $23 thousand charged as general and administrative expenses). During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company also granted 39,174 RSUs and 66,497 RSUs, respectively, to consultants as a prepayment for their services (three and six months ended June 30, 2023: nil). |
| 3. | During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, an aggregate of 476,189 RSUs were granted to the Company’s non-employee directors under the Company’s Non-employee Director Compensation Policy, which will vest at the Company’s 2025 annual shareholders meeting. The total fair value of units granted as annual grants to non-employee directors amounted to $700,000. |
| 4. | During the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company granted 7,144,348 RSUs, as payment for the 2023 LTIP awards (six months ended June 30, 2023: 8,645,465 RSUs were issued as payment for the 2022 LTIP awards). |
| 5. | On April 16, 2024, the Company entered into a new employment agreement with Gerard Barron, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman (the “Employment Agreement”) that replaced and superseded Mr. Barron’s existing employment agreement. Under the Employment Agreement, the Company granted Mr. Barron a one-time signing bonus award of market-based restricted stock units (the “Signing RSUs”) amounting to 20,000,000 of the Company’s common shares. The Signing RSUs will vest upon the common shares achieving the following closing prices per common share, based on the trailing 30-day average price (the “Closing Price”), on or prior to April 16, 2029 (maturity date), subject to Mr. Barron’s continued service with the Company on the applicable vesting date: one-third of the Signing RSUs vest on achievement of a Closing Price of $7.50; one-third of the Signing RSUs vest on achievement of a Closing Price of $10.00; and one-third of the Signing RSUs vest on achievement of a Closing Price of $12.50 (each subject to equitable adjustment for any stock splits, combinations, reclassifications, stock dividends and the like). Pursuant to the Employment Agreement, Mr. Barron has agreed not to sell any of the common shares issuable upon vesting of the Signing RSUs until after the fifth anniversary of entering into the Employment Agreement. |
The Company determined the fair value of the options using the Monte-Carlo valuation method. The fair value of each tranche and the derived service period are as follows: | | | | | | Tranche | | Fair Value per RSU | | Derived Service Period | Achievement of a Closing Price of $7.50 | | $ | 1.07 | | 1.58 years from the grant date | Achievement of a Closing Price of $10 | | $ | 1.04 | | 1.87 years from the grant date | Achievement of a Closing Price of $12.50 | | $ | 1.00 | | 2.10 years from the grant date |
The fair value of the Signing RSUs was estimated using the following assumptions: | | | | | | April 16, 2024 | Share price | | $ | 1.72 | Performance period | | | April 16, 2024 – April 16, 2029 | Volatility | | | 113.83% | Risk-free rate | | | 4.57% | Cost of Equity | | | 19.56% | Dividend yield | | | 0.0% |
The grant date fair value of all RSUs, apart from the Signing RSUs, is equivalent to the closing share price of the Company’s common shares on the date of grant. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, a total of $5.3 million and $8.5 million, respectively, was charged to the statement of loss and comprehensive loss as share-based compensation expense for RSUs (three and six months ended June 30, 2023: $2.4 million and $4 million, respectively). For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, a total of $3.1 million and $4.4 million, respectively, was recognized as share-based compensation expense and related to exploration and evaluation activities (three and six months ended June 30, 2023 - $1.4 million and $2.3 million, respectively). The amount of share-based compensation expense related to general and administration matters for three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $2.2 million and $4.1 million, respectively (three and six months ended June 30, 2023 - $1 million and $1.7 million, respectively). As at June 30, 2024, total unrecognized share-based compensation expense for RSUs was $31.7 million (December 31, 2023 - $6.9 million). As at June 30, 2024, an aggregate of 72,318 vested RSUs were being processed and due to be converted into common shares. Employee Stock Purchase Plan On May 31, 2022, TMC’s 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) was approved at the Company’s 2022 annual shareholders meeting. As of June 30, 2024, there were 10,998,032 common shares reserved for issuance under the ESPP. This included 3,065,587 shares added to the ESPP in January 2024 pursuant to the ESPP’s automatic annual increase provision. Under the ESPP, the number of shares reserved for issuance is subject to an annual increase provision which provides that on the first day of each of the Company’s fiscal years starting in 2022, common shares equal to the lesser of (i) 1% percent of the common shares outstanding on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year, or (ii) such lesser number of shares as is determined by the board of directors will be added to the ESPP. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, a total of $13 thousand and $31 thousand, respectively, was charged to the condensed consolidated statement of loss and comprehensive loss (for three and six months ended June 30, 2023: $28 thousand and $47 thousand, respectively) as share-based compensation expense for ESPP issuances. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, a total of $6 thousand and $15 thousand, respectively, of this recognized share-based compensation expense was related to exploration and evaluation activities (three and six months ended June 30, 2023 - $19 thousand and $26 thousand, respectively). The amount of this share-based compensation expense related to general and administration matters for three and six months ended June 30, 2024 was $7 thousand and $16 thousand, respectively (three and six months ended June 30, 2023 - $9 thousand and $21 thousand, respectively). On May 31, 2024, the Company issued 27,394 common shares to its employees, thereby converting employee payroll contributions over the previous six months into shares, as prescribed in its ESPP program (in the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, 83,572 common shares were issued).
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