Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

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STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
NOTE 11: STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

On June 24, 2020, the Whole Earth Brands, Inc. 2020 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) was approved for the purpose of promoting the long-term financial interests and growth of the Company and its subsidiaries by attracting and retaining management and other personnel and key service providers. The Plan provides for the granting of stock options (“SOs”), stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance shares, performance share units (“PSUs”) and other stock-based awards to officers, employees and non-employee directors of, and certain other service providers to, the Company and its subsidiaries. These awards are settled in shares of the Company’s stock and therefore classified as equity awards. Under the terms of the Plan an aggregate of 9,300,000 shares of common stock are authorized for issuance under the Plan.
RSUs granted in 2021 vest ratably on the anniversary of the grant date over a period of one to three years, depending on the specific terms of each RSU agreement.
PSU awards generally cliff vest subsequent to the completion of the cumulative three-year performance period, depending on the period specified in each respective PSU agreement. The number of PSUs that ultimately vest depends on the Company’s performance relative to a specified cumulative financial target for fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023 (the “cumulative performance target”) and are expected to be settled in stock.
Stock-based compensation expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 was $2.7 million and $7.2 million, respectively, and no expense was recognized for the same periods in the prior year. Stock-based compensation expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 includes $0.2 million and $0.6 million, respectively, of expense related to 2021 management bonuses expected to be settled in stock and accounted for as a liability.
A summary of activity and weighted average fair values related to the RSUs is as follows:
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
Shares Weighted Average Fair Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2020 633,057  $ 8.34 
Granted 553,146  13.55 
Vested (40,659) 10.23 
Forfeited (20,345) 8.34 
Outstanding and nonvested at September 30, 2021 1,125,199  $ 10.90 
A summary of activity and weighted average fair values related to the RSAs is as follows:
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
Shares Weighted Average Fair Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2020 68,946  $ 8.34 
Granted —  — 
Outstanding and nonvested at September 30, 2021 68,946  $ 8.34 
A summary of activity and weighted average fair values related to the PSUs is as follows:
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021
Shares Weighted Average Fair Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2020 —  $ — 
Granted 323,555  13.65 
Outstanding and nonvested at September 30, 2021 323,555  $ 13.65 
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not yet recognized compensation costs on nonvested awards as follows (in thousands):
Unrecognized Compensation Cost Weighted Avg. Remaining Recognition Period (in years)
Nonvested awards $ 10,096  1.06