Not commenting on this particular situation, but to answer your question in general:
If a company has an IPO, there are no "employee retention payments", so it's better than that :)
Employee retention payments are actually a way to give employees a somewhat better deal than investors, though typically they will be subject to vesting.
> If a company has an IPO, there are no "employee retention payments", so it's better than that :)
The reverse split of common before preferred share conversions for IPO are often a big screw to the employees. Many are also unaware of it, as they don't dig through the S-1. (Atheros was the largest one I saw in this camp.)
If a company has an IPO, there are no "employee retention payments", so it's better than that :)
Employee retention payments are actually a way to give employees a somewhat better deal than investors, though typically they will be subject to vesting.