STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

NOTE 16 – STOCK BASED COMPENSATION

On May 13, 2021, the Company made effective the 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) for purpose of attracting and retaining employees, consultants and directors of the Company and its affiliates by providing each the opportunity to acquire an equity interest in the Company or other incentive compensation in order to align the interests of such individuals with those of the Company’s stockholders. The Plan provides for a maximum number of shares to be issued, limitations of shares to be delivered for incentive stock options and a maximum compensation amount for any non-employee member of the board of directors, among other provisions. The form of grants under the Plan includes stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”). No grants have been made under the Plan for the period February 8, 2021 (date of inception) to December 31, 2021.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, stock-based compensation expense was $1.6 million. The following table summarizes the activities for unvested Company RSUs granted to employees and Board of Directors members during the year ended December 31, 2022:

	Unvested Restricted Stock Units
	Number of Shares		Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Unvested as of December 31, 2021		—		-
Granted		1,931,187		2.87
Vested		—		-
Forfeited/canceled		—		-
Unvested as of December 31, 2022		1,931,187		2.87

The requisite service period for grants is generally between one and three years.  As of December 31, 2022, there was $4.0 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested employee and Board of Directors members RSUs.  The amount is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.2 years.  During the year ended December 31, 2022, two RSU grants, with an initial fair value of $190,000 were made to consultants.  Including cancelations, unrecognized compensation of $98,000 on the consultant grants remains outstanding as of December 31, 2022.