Situation
Your company is being acquired
Acquisitions compress months of equity decisions into days. The deal terms determine more than the price — they determine how your vested shares, unvested grants, and ISOs all get treated. The right moves before close are very different from the right moves after.
The Reading List
Articles, in order.
Work through them sequentially, or jump to the one most relevant to your situation.
- 01Reference— LIQUIDITY EVENTS
Getting Acquired
What changes when your company is acquired: deal structure and grant type (vested, unvested, ISO unique features) determine your outcome.
8 MIN8 MIN - 02Reference— EQUITY ADVANTAGE
What Happens To Your Stock Options When Your Company Is Acquired?
Two factors decide your equity outcome in an acquisition: the deal structure (cash, stock, hybrid) and how the acquirer treats each grant type.
14 MIN14 MIN - 03Reference— EQUITY ADVANTAGE
What Tech Employees Need to Know About VC Liquidation Pref (So You Don't Get Screwed)
How VC liquidation preferences work in an exit, with three worked examples showing when they don't hurt, do hurt, and take everything.
6 MIN6 MIN - 04How-to— JOBS & LIFE
Leaving Your Company
What to decide when you leave a tech employer: exercise vs. let lapse, the 90-day window, and what you can still negotiate on the way out.
6 MIN6 MIN - 05How-to— EQUITY ADVANTAGE
Negotiating an Option Extension/PTEP when LEAVING a company
Five strategies for negotiating a PTEP (post-termination exercise period) when leaving — the pros, risks, and trust required for each.
7 MIN7 MIN - 06How-to— TAX STRATEGIES
Exercise ISOs Within 90 Days After You Leave a Company
IRS rules convert vested ISOs to NSOs 90 days after termination — exercise inside that window to keep the qualifying-disposition tax benefits intact.
3 MIN3 MIN - 07How-to— TAX STRATEGIES
Correcting Cost Basis of Shares from NSOs Post-IPO
Brokers list pre-IPO NSO cost basis at strike, but your tax basis is FMV at exercise — make sure your CPA adjusts it on Schedule D or you'll overpay capital gains tax.
2 MIN2 MIN
Talk to a 30/40 Advisor
Want this applied to your situation?
A 30-minute consult tells you whether the frameworks in this reading list cleanly apply to your equity package — and if so, what the first three moves are. No pitch.
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