Maui L&P CEO gets $4 million in shares
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
Maui Land & Pineapple Co. issued 100,000 shares in the name of president and CEO David Cole this week, and Cole said he has no intention of selling the stock.
Under terms of Cole's contract most of those shares are restricted and cannot be sold, Cole said yesterday. However, Maui Land & Pine was required to register the securities — worth nearly $4 million — with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cole
"That's just a requirement under my employment contract," said Cole, who became CEO of Maui Land & Pine on Oct. 15, 2003. "I have no plan to sell any of those shares at the present time. I just got here."
Those shares, along with options to acquire an added 200,000 shares, become vested over a four-year period that extends through 2007. The amounts and timing vary depending on whether the company meets certain performance benchmarks.
Maui Land & Pine has undergone management changes over the past year. It has expanded its board of directors, announced Kapalua Resort plans and progressed toward expanding fresh pineapple sales.
Its stock has risen 42 percent from $27.60 when Cole became chief executive to yesterday's closing price of $39.31 on the American Stock Exchange. That equates to about an $85 million increase in the value of the company's outstanding shares.
Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
