Share-Based Compensation | 15. The Company’s 2021 Incentive Equity Plan (the “Plan”) provides that the aggregate number of common shares reserved for future issuance under the Plan as of December 31, 2022 is 33,699,685 common shares, provided that 2,243,853 of the outstanding common shares shall only be available for awards made to non-employee directors of the Company. On the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2022 to the tenth anniversary of the closing of the Business Combination, the number of common shares that may be issued pursuant to the Plan is automatically increased by an amount equal to the lesser of 4% of the number of outstanding common shares or an amount determined by the board of directors. Stock options Pursuant to the Company’s stock option plan, directors may, from time to time, authorize the issuance of stock options to directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries. The board of directors grants such options with vesting periods and exercise prices determined at its sole discretion. As described in Note 6, existing DeepGreen options were automatically adopted by TMC after application of the Exchange Ratio to both the underlying number of common shares and the exercise price and provided for additional Special Shares to be issued to option holders on a pro-rata basis, if exercised. The Rollover Options did not change in value as a result of the Business Combination. Comparative information below has been restated by adjusting for the number of options and exercise prices for the Exchange Ratio. As at December 31, 2022, there were 15,356,340 stock options outstanding under the Company’s Short-Term Incentive Plan (“STIP”) and 9,783,922 stock options outstanding under the Company’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”). The Company makes awards under the STIP and LTIP under its equity incentive plans in effect at the time of the award, which is currently the Plan. No new stock options were granted by the Company under the STIP or LTIP plans during 2022. Outstanding under STIP plan : A continuity schedule summarizing the movements in the Company’s stock options under the STIP plan is as follows: Weighted Aggregate Weighted average intrinsic average Number of exercise value of contractual Options price per stock life Outstanding option options (years) Outstanding – December 31, 2020 15,549,977 $ 0.80 $ 36,126 7.34 Granted 6,373,203 2.10 — — Expired (50,946) 0.39 — — Cancelled/Forfeited (57,893) 0.65 — — Exercised (6,310,593) 0.67 — — Outstanding – December 31, 2021 15,503,748 $ 1.40 $ 17,415 6.33 Granted — — — — Expired — — — — Cancelled/Forfeited (28,947) 2.60 — — Exercised (118,461) 0.65 — — Outstanding – December 31, 2022 15,356,340 $ 1.40 $ 1,582 5.11 Vested and expected to vest – December 31, 2022 15,356,340 $ 1.40 $ 1,582 5.11 Vested and exercisable – December 31, 2022 14,738,815 $ 1.13 $ 1,582 5.10 A summary of the Company’s stock options granted and outstanding under the Company’s STIP as at December 31, 2022 is as follows: Weighted average Number of Number of life to expiry Options Options Expiry Date Exercise price (years) Outstanding Exercisable June 30, 2023 $ 0.87 0.5 162,100 162,100 March 31, 2024 $ 0.65 1.25 73,811 73,811 December 31, 2025 $ 0.65 3.00 11,578 11,578 January 27, 2026 $ 0.52 - $2.59 3.08 1,075,229 1,075,229 February 2, 2026 $ 0.65 3.09 57,893 57,893 February 17, 2026 $ 0.22 - $0.52 3.13 431,494 431,494 June 1, 2028 $ 0.65 - $8.64 5.42 12,849,518 12,231,993 June 30, 2028 $ 2.59 5.50 694,717 694,717 15,356,340 14,738,815 The total grant date fair value of STIP stock options that vested during the year ended December 31, 2022, was $2.4 million. As at December 31, 2022, total unrecognized share-based compensation expense of $0.6 million is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average recognition period of approximately one year. On March 4, 2021, the Company granted 9,783,922 stock options under its LTIP. These stock options have an exercise price of $0.65 per option and expire on June 1, 2028. The aggregate intrinsic value of LTIP stock options as at December 31, 2022 was $1.2 million. None of the LTIP stock options were exercisable on December 31, 2022. The Company expects LTIP options to vest as and when the market and performance milestones described below are achieved. As at December 31, 2022, total unrecognized share-based compensation expense for the LTIP stock options was $23 million. As at December 31, 2022, the fair value of the Company’s common shares was $0.77 per share. As at December 31, 2022, the Company used the closing market price of its common shares to determine the intrinsic value of outstanding stock options. The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2022 was $62 thousand. Activity and Valuation During 2022, the board of directors approved the extension of the expiry dates of certain stock option grants to reflect the extension of various consulting contracts, resulting in share-based compensation expense of $0.4 million. The fair value of these modifications was calculated using Black-Scholes option pricing models. Outstanding under LTIP plan: The stock options granted under the Company’s LTIP plan have an exercise price of $0.65 per share and expire on June 1, 2028. The LTIP awards vest as follows: (1) Tranche 1 - 25 % when the Company’s market capitalization equals $ 3 billion; (2) Tranche 2 - 35 % when the Company’s market capitalization equals $ 6 billion; (3) Tranche 3 - 20 % upon the date that the ISA grants an exploitation contract to the Company; and (4) Tranche 4 - 20 % upon the commencement of the first commercial production following the grant of the exploitation contract. Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 vest based on the Company’s market capitalization of $3 billion and $6 billion, respectively. Accordingly, these options are determined to be market-based awards for which the Company has calculated fair value and derived a service period through which to expense the related fair value. The options included in Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 had a grant date fair value of $5.59 per share and $5.42 per share and derived service periods of 0.33 years and 1.41 years, respectively. The Company will expense these awards ratably over the remaining service period. Tranche 3 and Tranche 4 of the LTIP stock options vest based on the date the ISA grants an exploitation contract and the commencement of commercial production. These options are determined to be performance-based awards. The Company will recognize compensation costs for the performance-based awards if and when the Company concludes that it is probable that the performance conditions will be achieved. As at December 31, 2022, no compensation expense related to the performance based awards was recorded as the awarding of an ISA contract is outside the control of the Company. The Company will reassess the probability of the vesting of the performance-based awards at each reporting period and adjust the compensation cost when determined to be probable. The fair value of awards granted under the LTIP was estimated on the date of grant using the following weighted average assumptions: Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 1 Tranche 3 2 Tranche 4 2 Expected stock price volatility 91.0 % 91.2 % 91.2 % Expected life of options (years) 7.3 years 5.2 years 5.4 years Risk-free interest rate 1.3 % 0.8 % 0.9 % Expected dividend yield 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % Estimated per share fair value of the Company’s common shares $ 6.05 $ 6.05 $ 6.05 1. The fair value of the market-based awards granted under the LTIP was estimated on the date of grant using a Monte-Carlo model to simulate a distribution of future share prices. 2. The fair value of the performance-based awards granted under the LTIP was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Changes in these assumptions could have a material impact on the Company’s loss and comprehensive loss. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized $9.5 million of share-based compensation expense for stock options (originally issued under STIP and LTIP plans) in the statement of loss and comprehensive loss (2021: $59.3 million). Share-based compensation expense for stock options totaling $4.8 million related to general and administration matters were charged to the statement of loss and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 (2021: $32.7 million). The Company recorded a total of $4.7 million of share -based compensation expense for stock options related to exploration and evaluation activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 (2021: $26.6 million). Restricted Share Units The Company may, from time to time, grant RSUs to directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries under the Plan, whether to the STIP, the LTIP or otherwise. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company granted 464,632 RSUs vesting in thirds on each anniversary of the grant date, 527,800 RSUs vesting in fourths on each anniversary of the grant date, 476,189 RSUs vesting in full one year from grant date and 1,721,729 RSUs vesting immediately on grant date. On each vesting date, RSU holders are entitled to receive common shares equivalent to the number of RSUs held provided the holder is providing service to the Company on such vesting date. The details of RSUs granted by the Company during the year are as follows: Vesting Period 2022 2021 Vesting Immediately 1,721,729 173,216 Vesting fully on the anniversary of the grant date 476,189 — Vesting in halves on each anniversary of the grant date — 54,687 Vesting in thirds on each anniversary of the grant date 464,632 3,556,225 Vesting in fourths on each anniversary of the grant date 527,800 343,750 Total Units Granted 3,190,350 4,127,878 Of the 1,721,729 units vesting immediately on grant date, 1,072,572 units were issued to settle liabilities with a carrying amount of $1.8 million, at a weighted average grant date fair value of $1.64 per RSU. During 2022 476,189 units (2021: nil) were granted to the Company’s non-employee directors under the Company’s Non-employee Director Compensation Policy, which vest upon the Company’s 2023 annual shareholders meeting. The total fair value of units granted as annual grants to the non-employee directors in 2022 amounted to $700,000 ($nil in 2021). A summary of the RSU activity in 2022 is presented in the table below: Weighted Number of average grant- RSUs date fair value Outstanding per RSU Outstanding – December 31, 2021 3,946,630 $ 3.31 Granted (1) 3,190,350 1.73 Forfeited (396,691) 2.94 Exercised (2,925,146) 2.38 Outstanding – December 31, 2022 3,815,143 $ 2.75 (1) The grant date fair value of RSUs is equivalent to the closing share price of the Company’s common shares on the date of grant. During the year, a total of $7.5 million was charged to the statement of loss and comprehensive loss as share-based compensation expense for RSUs (2021: $1.0 million). Share-based compensation expense for RSUs totaling $3.8 million related to general and administration matters was charged to the statement of loss and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 (2021: $0.6 million). The Company recorded a total of $3.7 million of share-based compensation expense for RSUs related to exploration and evaluation activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 (2021: $0.4 million). As at December 31, 2022, total unrecognized share-based compensation expense for RSUs was $6.1 million (December 31, 2021 - $12.3 million). As at December 31, 2022, an aggregate of 5,354 vested units were outstanding and due to be converted into common shares. Employee Stock Purchase Plan On May 31, 2022, TMC’s 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) was approved at the Company’s 2022 annual shareholders meeting. As of December 31, 2022, there were 5,254,324 common shares reserved for issuance under the ESPP. This included 2,254,324 shares added to the ESPP in January 2022 pursuant to the ESPP’s automatic annual increase provision discussed below. Under the ESPP, the number of shares reserved for issuance is subject to an annual increase provision which provides that on the first day of each of the Company’s fiscal years starting in 2022, common shares equal to the lesser of (i) 1% percent of the common shares outstanding on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year, or (ii) such lesser number of shares as is determined by the board of directors will be added to the ESPP. Participation in the ESPP is available to all full-time and certain part-time employees. The ESPP comprises offering periods that are twenty-four (24) months in length, which begin on approximately every June 1 and December 1. Each offering period includes four purchase periods of six months each, which begin on approximately every June 1 and December 1, or at such other times designated by the board of directors or its compensation committee. At the exercise date, which is the last business day of each purchase period, the accumulated deductions from participating employees are used to purchase common shares of the Company. Shares are purchased at a price equal to 85% of the lower of either the share price of the Company’s common shares on the first business day of the particular offering period or the last business day of the purchase period. The ESPP also has an automatic reset feature wherein, if the share price of the common share on any exercise date is less than the share price of the common share on the first business day of the applicable offering period, then such offering period shall automatically terminate immediately after the purchase of the common shares. In such case, a new offering period shall commence on the first business day following the exercise date. The ESPP includes the following limitations: ● an employee’s contribution is limited to 15% of the employee’s annual gross earnings, not to exceed $25,000 per year, ● an employee’s purchases in any offering period cannot exceed 15,000 common shares, and ● an employee’s purchases are capped, not to exceed 5% of the Company’s total outstanding common shares. During 2022, the Company issued 117,929 common shares to its employees as part of its ESPP program. A total of $0.1 million was charged to the statement of loss and comprehensive loss as share-based compensation expense for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing the share price purchase discount offered by the Company. From the amount charged in 2022, $35 thousand was recorded in exploration and evaluation expenses and $67 thousand was recorded in general and administrative expenses. |