Share-Based Compensation and Other Benefit Plans

Share-Based Compensation

We recognize share-based compensation expense related to our share-based compensation plans as a component of “General and administrative” expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

In the Predecessor periods in 2016 we had outstanding equity-classified awards in the form of stock options, restricted stock units and deferred stock units. All outstanding equity-classified share-based compensation awards were canceled in connection with our emergence from bankruptcy. We reserved 749,600 shares of Successor common Stock for issuance under the Penn Virginia Corporation Management Incentive Plan for future share-based compensation awards. A total of 298,454 RSUs and 98,526 performance restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) have been granted as of September 30, 2017.

The following table summarizes our share-based compensation expense (benefit) recognized for the periods presented:



	Successor				Predecessor
			Period From		Period From
	Three Months Ended		September 13, 2016 Through		July 1, 2016 Through
	September 30, 2017		September 30, 2016		September 12, 2016
Equity-classified awards ¹	$	1,013	$	—	$	147
Liability-classified awards	—		—		—
	$	1,013	$	—	$	147

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¹ Amounts for the period from July 1, 2016 through September 12, 2016 periods have been recasted (see Note 2).



	Successor				Predecessor
			Period From		Period From
	Nine Months Ended		September 13, 2016 Through		January 1, 2016 Through
	September 30, 2017		September 30, 2016		September 12, 2016
Equity-classified awards	$	2,707	$	—	$	1,511
Liability-classified awards	—		—		(19		)
	$	2,707	$	—	$	1,492

In the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we granted 190,891 RSUs to certain employees with an average grant-date fair value of $48.70 per RSU. The RSUs are being charged to expense on a straight-line basis over five years. In the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we also granted 98,526 PRSUs to members of our management. The PRSUs were issued collectively in two to three separate tranches with individual three-year performance periods beginning in January 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Vesting of the PRSUs can range from zero to 200 percent of the original grant based on the performance of our common stock relative to an industry index. Due to their market condition, the PRSUs are being charged to expense using graded vesting over a maximum of five years. The fair value of each PRSU award was estimated on their grant dates using a Monte Carlo simulation with a range of $47.70 to $65.28 per PRSU. Expected volatilities were based on historical volatilities and range from 59.63% to 62.18%. A risk-free rate of interest with a range of 1.44% to 1.51% was utilized which is equivalent to the yield, as of the measurement date, of the zero-coupon U.S. Treasury bill commensurate with the longest remaining performance measurement period for each tranche. We assumed no payment of dividends during the performance periods.

Other Benefit Plans

We maintain the Penn Virginia Corporation and Affiliated Companies Employees 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”), a defined contribution plan, which covers substantially all of our employees. We recognized $0.3 million of expense attributable to the 401(k) Plan for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, and $0.4 million for the period January 1, 2016 through September 12, 2016, and less than $0.1 million for the period September 13, 2016 through September 30, 2016.

We maintain unqualified legacy defined benefit pension and defined benefit postretirement plans that cover a limited number of former employees, all of whom retired prior to 2000. The combined expense recognized with respect to these plans was less than $0.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, less than $0.1 million for the period January 1, 2016 through September 12, 2016 and less than $0.1 million for the period September 13, 2106 through September 30, 2016.