17.
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
(continued)
Lesaka ESOP Trust
On November 14, 2024, the Company announced that its shareholders voted on and approved
the funding and issuance of shares
to the Lesaka ESOP Trust at its annual general meeting. The Lesaka Employee Share Ownership Plan (“ESOP”)
is designed to create
alignment
with
the
Company's
long-term
growth
objectives.
The
Lesaka
ESOP
Trust
is
also
expected
to
advance
the Company’s
transformation
initiatives
and
plays
an
important
role
in
improving
the
company’s
Broad-Based
Black
Economic
Empowerment
(“BBBEE”) rating.
As of
November 2024,
when shareholders
approved the
plan, the
Company’s
employee base
was comprised
of
approximately
87
%
designated
groups
for
BBBEE
purposes.
Through
the
creation
of
a
broader
base
of
employee
ownership,
the
Company
is
helping
to
promote
economic
inclusion
and
contribute
to
transformation
in the
broader
South
African
economy.
The
Lesaka ESOP Trust
is structured as
an evergreen
trust, ensuring
the permanence of
the plan and
allowing for the
inclusion of future
employees as the Company continues to grow.
The
Lesaka
ESOP
Trust
was
required
to
have
an
effective
holding
of
3
%
of
the
Company’s
issued
shares
at
the
date
of
implementation,
and in
February 2025,
the Company
issued
2,490,000
shares of
its common
stock to
the Lesaka
ESOP Trust.
The
subscription price
payable by
the Lesaka
ESOP Trust
for the
shares was
vendor funded
by the
Company through
a notional
vendor
funding (“NVF”)
structure whereby
the Company
provided a
notional loan
to the
Lesaka ESOP
Trust representing
the fair value
of
the shares, facilitating
the acquisition by
the Lesaka ESOP
Trust of
the shares without
requiring any upfront
payment by the
Lesaka
ESOP Trust except for the payment of a nominal value of $
0.001
per share. The NVF structure will achieve the
same economic effect
as a traditional
loan structure from
the Company to the
Lesaka ESOP Trust
to enable the Lesaka
ESOP Trust to
subscribe for shares
in the Company, but without
any actual flow of funds from the Company to the Trust.
A notional amount on the date
of issue was ascribed to each share
that the Lesaka ESOP Trust
subscribed for, which
is equal to
the fair market value
of one of the
Company shares of common
stock (which is the
amount the Lesaka ESOP
Trust would have
paid
for one of the Company’s shares in an ordinary course cash transaction with the Company) less a
10
% discount. The principal amount
on the NVF loan will
accrue interest at a fixed
rate of
3
% per annum. The NVF
will have a
five-year
term. The notional amount was
not recognized in the Company’s financial statements because
it represents a formula to
calculate the number of the
Company’s shares
of common stock to be returned by the Lesaka ESOP Trust
to the Company after
five years
.
On or about the 5
th
anniversary of the implementation date of the ESOP (“Maturity Date”), the Company will have the option to
repurchase
a
portion
of
the
shares
held
by
the
Lesaka
ESOP
Trust
at
the
nominal
aggregate
amount
to
settle
the
total
NVF
loan
outstanding. The number of
shares to be repurchased will be
determined by using a formula
set out in the transaction
documents that
considers the total
NVF loan outstanding on
the Maturity Date
and the market
value of one
of the Company’s shares held
by the Lesaka
ESOP Trust. The purchase
consideration that would have been
payable for the shares the Company
will repurchase (which is the fair
market value the Company
would have paid for the shares
in an ordinary course cash transaction
with the Lesaka ESOP Trust
on the
Maturity Date) will be set off
against the total NVF loan outstanding.
After settlement of the NVF loan,
50
% of the remaining shares
held by the Lesaka ESOP Trust, if any,
will be distributed to eligible employees.
The Lesaka ESOP Trust will hold shares of
the Company’s common stock. The
Lesaka ESOP Trust will therefore be entitled to
receive its proportionate share of any
dividends and other distributions declared by the
Company to its shareholders and vote
its shares
held on matters requiring shareholder approval.
The Lesaka ESOP Trust
is administered by the
board of trustees made up
of
five
members nominated by the Company’s
Board
and the participants in the ESOP.
The Company’s Board has the right
to nominate
two
members to the board of trustees. The balance
of the trustees,
one
of which must be an independent trustee,
are nominated by the participants. The nominees
appointed to the board
of trustees may not be members of the Company’s Board or an officer as contemplated in Rule 16a-(f) of the Securities and Exchange
Act of 1934. The nominees of
the participants need to meet an election
criteria to be eligible for nomination which
requires participant
nominees to have been employed by the Group for a continuous and uninterrupted period of at least
three years
. The trustees have the
discretion to determine how
the Lesaka ESOP Trust
should vote shares of the
Company common stock held on
matters requiring the
Company’s shareholders
approval. The decisions by the trustees are decided by a majority vote.
The Company
is responsible
for all
reasonable
operating expenses
incurred
by the
Lesaka ESOP
Trust
until such
time as
the
Lesaka ESOP Trust has sufficient
cash resources of its own to settle its operating expenses.
The Company controls the Lesaka
ESOP
Trust because
the Lesaka ESOP
Trust is
considered to
be a variable
interest entity (“VIE”)
in which the
Company has a
controlling
financial interest.
Accordingly,
the Lesaka ESOP
Trust is
consolidated by
the Company.
As the Lesaka
ESOP Trust
is consolidated
2,490,000
shares of
the Company’s
common stock
held by
Lesaka ESOP
Trust
are accounted
for as
treasury
shares at the
nominal amount
of $
0.001
per share. Purchases
and sales of
the Company’s
common stock
between the
Company and
the Lesaka ESOP Trust will be recognized within equity with no profit or loss
being recognized in the statement of operations on such