By Colin Kellaher

Moderna Inc. on Tuesday said its chief executive, Stephane Bancel, plans to fully exercise an option granted in 2013 to buy nearly 4.59 million shares at 99 cents apiece and to donate proceeds from the exercise to charitable causes.

The Cambridge, Mass., vaccine maker said the option would be forfeited if not exercised by August 2023, adding that Mr. Bancel previously hasn't exercised any stock options.

In a blog post on Moderna's website, Mr. Bancel said he expects to make a charitable donation of around $355 million after paying about $280 million in taxes, assuming Moderna shares are trading at around $140.

In an effort to avoid a significant number of shares coming to the market at once, Mr. Bancel said he plans to buy 40,000 shares each Wednesday and Thursday starting this week until he has fully exercised the option.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 24, 2022 08:41 ET (12:41 GMT)

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