Apple hits back in stock options case
Apple Computer says a special committee of its board found that its chief executive, Steve Jobs, was not responsible for improper dating of stock options at the company.
It has been speculated that records of a board meeting called to approve the awarding of 7.5m stock options to Jobs in 2001 were falsified. To account for the backdating, Apple restated its financial reporting back to 2002 and took an $84m charge. Investors were cheered by the news, which was contained in the annual report Apple filed with securities regulators. But The New York Times points out that the report failed to completely remove a cloud hanging over the company as a result of the backdating of options and improper record keeping, especially concerning two large option grants made to Jobs in 2000 and 2001.
Full report in The New York Times
Meanwhile, Mark Pomerantz, one of Americas leading white-collar crime defence lawyers, has held talks with Jobs about representing him if he faces criminal or civil charges in the stock options scandal engulfing the iPod manufacturer. Legal sources told The Times that Pomerantz had been approached by Jobs and that the pair had discussed the allegations of impropriety surrounding stock option grants at Apple. It was understood that Pomerantz agreed to represent Jobs if he was needed.
Full report in The Times
Apple is also facing several federal lawsuits, including one alleging the company created an illegal monopoly by tying iTunes music and video sales to its market-leading iPod portable players. The case is over Apple\'s use of a copy-protection system that generally prevents iTunes music and video from playing on rival players. Likewise, songs purchased elsewhere aren\'t easily playable on iPods. Another lawsuit alleges that the logic board of Apple\'s iBook G4 fails at an abnormally high rate. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages. Separately, Apple is facing a securities lawsuit accusing the company and some of its current and former officers of improperly backdating stock-option grants, failing to properly account for them and making false financial statements. Hemscott.com reports that the lawsuits, many of which seek class-action status, were disclosed in Apple\'s delayed regulatory filing with the SEC.
Full Hemscott.com report