HealthExtras, Provident Speed Up Options Vesting

HealthExtras Inc., a Rockville pharmacy benefits manager, accelerated the vesting of options to purchase 481,250 shares for senior managers and executives, avoiding having to count the options as expenses under an accounting rule that took effect Sunday. The company did not disclose how much expense it avoided by accelerating the options, a step taken by hundreds of companies in recent weeks. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, HealthExtras chief executive David T. Blair and Chief Financial Officer Michael P. Donovan agreed not to sell any shares underlying their accelerated options before the options' original vesting dates.

Separately, Provident Bankshares Corp. of Baltimore accelerated the vesting on 612,732 stock options. Provident estimated that doing so will save the company $2.7 million, of which $937,000 would have been incurred in 2006.