SNE Sony Corporation

Stock Options (Stock Acquisition Rights)

 

Sony Group Corporation (the “Corporation”) resolved at a meeting of its Board of Directors (the “Board”) today to submit a proposal authorizing the issuance of stock acquisition rights to corporate executive officers and employees of the Corporation, and directors (excluding outside directors, the same shall apply hereinafter), officers and employees of subsidiaries of the Corporation, as outlined below, for the purpose of granting stock options, pursuant to the provisions of Articles 236, 238 and 239 of the Companies Act of Japan, and to delegate the determination of the terms of such stock acquisition rights to the Board.  The proposal will be made at the Corporation’s 106th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 20, 2023 (the “Meeting”).

 

In connection with this agenda, no such stock acquisition rights will be issued to outside directors of the Corporation.

 

I. The reason the Corporation needs to issue stock acquisition rights on favorable terms

The Corporation will issue stock acquisition rights to corporate executive officers and employees of the Corporation, and directors, officers and employees of subsidiaries of the Corporation, for the purpose of giving them an incentive to contribute towards the improvement of the business performance of the Corporation and of its group companies (collectively, the “Sony Group”) and thereby improving the business performance of the Sony Group by making the economic interest which such directors, officers or employees will receive correspond to the business performance of the Sony Group.

II. Terms and conditions of the stock acquisition rights (“Stock Acquisition Rights”), the concrete terms of which the Board may determine pursuant to the delegation of such determination upon approval at the Meeting

1. Maximum Limit of Aggregate Numbers of Stock Acquisition Rights

Not exceeding 50,000

2. Payment in exchange for Stock Acquisition Rights

Stock Acquisition Rights are issued without payment of any consideration to the Corporation.

3. Matters regarding Stock Acquisition Rights

The class of shares to be issued or transferred upon exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights shall be shares of common stock, and the number of shares to be issued or transferred upon exercise of each Stock Acquisition Right (the “Number of Granted Shares”) shall be 100 shares.

The aggregate number of shares to be issued or transferred upon exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights shall not exceed 5,000,000 shares of common stock of the Corporation (the “Common Stock”).  However, in the event that the Number of Granted Shares is adjusted pursuant to (2) below, the aggregate number of shares to be issued or transferred upon exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights shall not exceed the number obtained by multiplying the Number of Granted Shares after adjustment by the maximum limit of the aggregate number of Stock Acquisition Rights as prescribed in 1. above.

(2)

Adjustment of Number of Granted Shares

In the event that the Corporation conducts a stock split (including free distribution of shares (musho-wariate)) or a consolidation of the Common Stock after the date of a resolution of the Meeting, the Number of Granted Shares shall be adjusted in accordance with the following formula:

Any fraction less than one (1) share resulting from the adjustment shall be disregarded.

The amount of assets to be contributed upon exercise of each Stock Acquisition Right shall be the amount obtained by multiplying the amount to be paid per share to be issued or transferred upon exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights (the “Exercise Price”), which is provided below, by the Number of Granted Shares.

(i) Initial Exercise Price

The Exercise Price shall initially be as follows:

The Exercise Price shall initially be the average of the closing prices of the Common Stock in the regular trading thereof on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (each the “Closing Price”) for the ten (10) consecutive trading days (excluding days on which there is no Closing Price) immediately prior to the allotment date of such Stock Acquisition Rights (any fraction less than one (1) yen arising as a result of such calculation shall be rounded up to the nearest one (1) yen); provided, however, that if such calculated price is lower than the Closing Price on the allotment date of Stock Acquisition Rights (if there is no Closing Price on such date, the Closing Price on the immediately preceding trading day), the Exercise Price shall be equal to such Closing Price.

(B) Stock Acquisition Rights with Exercise Price Denominated in U.S. Dollars

The Exercise Price shall initially be the U.S. dollar amount obtained by dividing the average of the Closing Prices for the ten (10) consecutive trading days (excluding days on which there is no Closing Price) immediately prior to the allotment date of such Stock Acquisition Rights (the “Reference Yen Price”) by the average of the exchange rate quotations by a leading commercial bank in Tokyo for selling spot U.S. dollars by telegraphic transfer against yen for such ten (10) consecutive trading days (the “Reference Exchange Rate”) (any fraction less than one (1) cent arising as a result of such calculation shall be rounded up to the nearest one (1) cent); provided, however, that if the Reference Yen Price is lower than the Closing Price on the allotment date of Stock Acquisition Rights (if there is no Closing Price on such date, the Closing Price on the immediately preceding trading day), the Exercise Price shall be the U.S. dollar amount obtained by dividing such Closing Price by the Reference Exchange Rate (any fraction less than one (1) cent arising as a result of such calculation shall be rounded up to the nearest one (1) cent).

(ii) Adjustment of Exercise Price

In the event that the Corporation conducts a stock split (including free distribution of shares (musho-wariate)) or a consolidation of the Common Stock after the allotment date of Stock Acquisition Rights, the Exercise Price shall be adjusted in accordance with the following formula, and any fraction less than one (1) yen or one (1) cent resulting from the adjustment shall be rounded up to the nearest one (1) yen or one (1) cent, respectively.

In addition, in the case of a merger with any other company, corporate split or reduction of the amount of capital of the Corporation, or in any other case similar thereto where an adjustment of Exercise Price shall be required, in each case after the allotment date of Stock Acquisition Rights, the Exercise Price shall be adjusted appropriately to the extent reasonable.

(4)

Period during which Stock Acquisition Rights May be Exercised

The period during which Stock Acquisition Rights may be exercised will be the period from the day on which one (1) year has passed from the allotment date of Stock Acquisition Rights to the day on which ten (10) years have passed from such allotment date.

(5)

Conditions for the Exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights

(i) No Stock Acquisition Right may be exercised in part.

(ii) In the event of a resolution being passed at a general meeting of shareholders of the Corporation for an agreement for any consolidation, amalgamation or merger (other than a consolidation, amalgamation or merger in which the Corporation is the continuing corporation), or in the event of a resolution being passed at a general meeting of shareholders of the Corporation (or, where a resolution of a general meeting of shareholders is not necessary, at a meeting of the Board) for any agreement for share exchange (kabushiki-kokan) or any plan for share transfer (kabushiki-iten) pursuant to which the Corporation is to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of another corporation, Stock Acquisition Rights may not be exercised on and after the effective date of such consolidation, amalgamation or merger, such share exchange (kabushiki-kokan) or such share transfer (kabushiki-iten).

(iii) Conditions for the exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights other than the conditions referred to above shall be determined by the Board.

 Not applicable

(i) The amount of capital increased by the issuance of shares upon exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights shall be the amount obtained by multiplying the maximum limit of capital increase, as calculated in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1, Article 17 of the Company Accounting Ordinance of Japan, by 0.5, and any fraction less than one (1) yen arising as a result of such calculation shall be rounded up to the nearest one (1) yen.

(ii) The amount of additional paid-in capital increased by the issuance of shares upon exercise of Stock Acquisition Rights shall be the amount obtained by deducting the capital to be increased, as provided in (i) above, from the maximum limit of capital increase, as also provided in (i) above.

(8)

Restrictions on the Acquisition of Stock Acquisition Rights through Transfer

The Stock Acquisition Rights cannot be acquired through transfer, unless such acquisition is expressly approved by the Board.

 

Note:

The issuance of the Stock Acquisition Rights shall be subject to the approval by shareholders on the agenda referred to above to be obtained at the Meeting.  In addition, terms of a specific issuance and allotment of the Stock Acquisition Rights will be determined by the Board to be held after the Meeting.