FRIES MICHAEL T 4
Research Summary
AI-generated summary
Liberty Global CEO Michael Fries Receives Award; Shares Withheld for Taxes
What Happened
- Michael T. Fries, President & CEO and Director of Liberty Global Ltd. (tickers LBTYA/LBTYB/LBTYK), was issued performance-based awards on 2026-03-13. The filing shows two awards of 86,485 shares each (totaling 172,970 shares) under the company's 2023 Ventures Incentive Plan.
- To cover tax withholding obligations, 40,623 shares were surrendered at $12.18 for proceeds of $494,788 and another 40,623 shares were surrendered at $11.91 for proceeds of $483,820 — about $978,608 in total. These disposals were reported under code F (payment of exercise price or tax liability).
Key Details
- Transaction date: 2026-03-13; Filing date: 2026-03-17 (timely filed).
- Award entries: two grants of 86,485 shares (code A).
- Withheld/disposed shares: two entries of 40,623 shares each at $12.18 and $11.91 (codes F); total proceeds ≈ $978,608.
- Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the provided excerpt of the filing.
- Footnote: Awards were issued at the compensation committee’s discretion following completion of the three-year performance period of the 2023 Ventures Incentive Plan (Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2025).
- Trading symbols noted in filing: LBTYA, LBTYB, LBTYK.
Context
- This was an award grant with shares withheld to satisfy tax obligations (a routine "net share settlement" style transaction), not an open-market sale or purchase. Such withholdings are common when restricted or performance shares vest and do not necessarily indicate a change in the insider’s market view.
- Transaction codes: A = award/grant (acquisition); F = payment of exercise price or tax withholding (disposition).