Share-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Equity Commonwealth 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan (2015 Incentive Plan)

On June 16, 2015, at our 2015 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders approved the 2015 Incentive Plan. The 2015 Incentive Plan replaced the Equity Commonwealth 2012 Equity Compensation Plan (as amended, the 2012 Plan). The Board of Trustees approved the 2015 Incentive Plan, subject to shareholder approval, on March 18, 2015 (the Effective Date). On January 26, 2016, the Board of Trustees approved an amendment to the 2015 Incentive Plan to allow the Compensation Committee (Committee) to authorize in an award agreement a transfer of all or a part of certain equity awards not for value to a “family member” (as defined in the 2015 Incentive Plan). At our annual meeting of shareholders on June 20, 2019, our shareholders approved an amendment to the 2015 Incentive Plan to increase the number of common shares of beneficial interest authorized thereunder by 2,500,000. The following description of certain terms of the 2015 Incentive Plan is qualified in all respects by the terms of the 2015 Incentive Plan.

Eligibility. Awards may be granted under the 2015 Incentive Plan to employees, officers and non-employee directors of the Company, its subsidiaries or its affiliates, or consultants and advisors (who are natural persons) providing services to the Company, its subsidiaries or its affiliates, or any other person whose participation in the 2015 Incentive Plan is determined by the Committee to be in the best interests of the Company.

Term. The 2015 Incentive Plan terminates automatically ten years after the Effective Date, unless it is terminated earlier by the Board of Trustees.

Shares Available for Issuance. Subject to adjustment as provided in the 2015 Incentive Plan, the maximum number of common shares of the Company that are available for issuance under the 2015 Incentive Plan is 5,750,000 shares.

Awards. The following types of awards may be made under the 2015 Incentive Plan, subject to limitations set forth in the 2015 Incentive Plan:

· Stock options;

· Stock appreciation rights;

· Restricted stock;

· Restricted stock units;

· Unrestricted stock;

· Dividend equivalent rights;

· Performance shares and other performance-based awards;

· Limited partnership interests in any partnership entity through which the Company may conduct its business in the future;

· Other equity-based awards; and

· Cash bonus awards.

Recipients of the Company’s restricted shares have the same voting rights as any other common shareholder. During the period of restriction, the Company’s unvested restricted shareholders are eligible to receive dividend payments on their shares at the same rate and on the same date as any other common shareholder. The restricted shares are service based awards and vest over a four-year period.

Recipients of the Company’s restricted stock units, or RSUs, are entitled to receive dividends with respect to the common shares underlying the RSUs if and when the RSUs are earned, at which time the recipient will be entitled to receive an amount in cash equal to the aggregate amount of cash dividends that would have been paid in respect of the common shares underlying the recipient’s earned RSUs had such common shares been issued to the recipient on the first day of the performance period. To the extent that an award does not vest, the dividends related to unvested RSUs will be forfeited. The RSUs are market-based awards with a service condition and recipients may earn RSUs based on the Company’s total shareholder return, or TSR, relative to the TSRs of the companies that comprise the Nareit Office Index over a three-year performance period. Following the end of the three-year performance period, the number of earned awards will be determined. The earned awards vest in two tranches with 50% of the earned award vesting following the end of the performance period on the date the Committee determines the level of achievement of the performance metric and the remaining 50% of the earned award vesting approximately one year thereafter, subject to the grant recipient’s continued employment. Compensation expense for the RSUs is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model and is recognized ratably from the grant date to the vesting date of each tranche.

LTIP Units are a class of beneficial interests in the Operating Trust that may be issued to employees, officers or trustees of the Operating Trust, the Company or their subsidiaries, or LTIP Units. Time-based LTIP Units have the same general characteristics as restricted shares and market-based LTIP Units have the same general characteristics as RSUs. Each LTIP Unit will convert automatically into an OP Unit on a one-for-one basis when the LTIP Unit becomes vested and its capital account is equalized with the per-unit capital account of the OP Units. Holders of LTIP Units generally will be entitled to receive the same per-unit distributions as the other outstanding OP Units in the Operating Trust, except that market-based LTIP Units will not participate in distributions until expiration of the applicable performance period, at which time any earned market-based LTIP Units generally will become entitled to receive a catch-up distribution for the periods prior to such time.

Administration. The 2015 Incentive Plan will be administered by the Committee, which will determine all terms and recipients of awards under the 2015 Incentive Plan.

2019 Equity Award Activity

During the year ended December 31, 2019, 384,811 RSUs vested, and, as a result, we issued 384,811 common shares, prior to certain employees surrendering their common shares to satisfy tax withholding obligations (see Note 8).

On June 20, 2019, in accordance with the Company’s compensation plan for independent Trustees, the Committee awarded each of the nine independent Trustees $0.1 million in restricted shares or time-based LTIP Units as part of their compensation for the 2019-2020 year of service on the Board of Trustees. These awards equated to 2,940 shares or time-based LTIP Units per Trustee, for a total of 23,520 shares and 2,940 time-based LTIP Units, valued at $34.01 per share and unit, the closing price of our common shares on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, on that day. These shares and time-based LTIP Units vest one year after the date of the award.

On January 29, 2019, the Committee approved grants in the aggregate amount of 112,359 restricted shares and 228,128 RSUs at target (568,609 RSUs at maximum) to the Company’s officers, certain employees and to Mr. Zell, the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, as part of their compensation for fiscal year 2018. The restricted shares granted on January 29, 2019 were valued at $31.77 per share, the closing price of our common shares on the NYSE on that day.

2018 Equity Award Activity

On October 28, 2018, 225,655 RSUs vested, and, as a result, we issued 225,655 common shares, prior to certain employees surrendering their common shares to satisfy statutory tax withholding obligations (see Note 8).

On June 20, 2018, in accordance with the Company’s compensation plan for independent Trustees, the Committee awarded each of the nine independent Trustees $0.1 million in restricted shares or time-based LTIP Units as part of their compensation for the 2018-2019 year of service on the Board of Trustees. These awards equated to 3,200 shares or time-based LTIP Units per Trustee, for a total of 25,600 shares and 3,200 time-based LTIP Units, valued at $31.25 per share and unit, the closing price of our common shares on the NYSE on that day. These shares and time-based LTIP Units vest one year after the date of the award.

On January 29, 2018, the Committee approved a grant of 125,409 restricted shares and 254,615 RSUs at target (634,628 RSUs at maximum) to the Company’s officers, certain employees and to Mr. Zell, the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, as part of their compensation for fiscal year 2017. The restricted shares granted on January 29, 2018 were valued at $29.78 per share, the closing price of our common shares on the NYSE on that day.

2017 Equity Award Activity

On November 8, 2017, 226,258 RSUs vested, and, as a result, we issued 226,258 common shares, prior to certain employees surrendering their common shares to satisfy statutory tax withholding obligations (see Note 8).

On June 20, 2017, in accordance with the Company’s compensation plan for independent Trustees, the Committee awarded each of the nine independent Trustees $0.1 million in restricted shares or time-based LTIP Units as part of their compensation for the 2017-2018 year of service on the Board of Trustees. These awards equated to 3,156 shares or time-based LTIP Units per Trustee, for a total of 25,248 shares and 3,156 time-based LTIP Units, valued at $31.69 per share and unit, the closing price of our common shares on the NYSE on the grant date. These shares and time-based LTIP Units vested on June 20, 2018.

On January 24, 2017, the Committee approved a grant of 39,364 time-based LTIP Units, 79,924 market-based LTIP Units at target (199,211 market-based LTIP Units at maximum), 76,424 restricted shares and 155,168 RSUs at target (386,756 RSUs at maximum) to the Company’s officers, certain employees and to Mr. Zell, the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, as part of their compensation for fiscal year 2016. The restricted shares and time-based LTIP Units were valued at $31.47 per share and per unit, the closing price of our common shares on the NYSE on the grant date.

Outstanding Equity Awards

The table below presents a summary of restricted share, RSU and LTIP Unit activity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017:


	Number of Restricted Shares and Time-Based LTIP Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Number of RSUs and Market-Based LTIP Units	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Outstanding at December 31, 2016	752,209	$	26.79	2,572,768	$	15.75
Granted	144,192	31.51		585,967	15.97
Vested	(217,449)	27.97		(226,258)	15.99
Not earned(1)	—	—		(800,530)	15.99

Outstanding at December 31, 2017	678,952	$	27.41	2,131,947	$	15.69
Granted	154,209	30.05		634,628	14.90
Vested	(407,273)	27.06		(367,260)	15.79
Not earned(1)	—	—		(352,671)	15.47

Outstanding at December 31, 2018	425,888	$	28.70	2,046,644	$	15.47
Granted	138,819	32.20		568,609	15.91
Vested	(164,074)	28.60		(384,811)	15.53
Not earned(1)	—	—		(225,654)	15.57
Forfeited	(319)	31.08		(1,613)	15.56
Outstanding at December 31, 2019	400,314	$	29.95	2,003,175	$	15.57

(1) The table presents the maximum number of shares issued or issuable from outstanding equity awards. RSUs and market-based LTIP Units not earned are the shares market-based award recipients do not receive based on the performance measurement completed at the end of the performance period.

The 400,314 unvested restricted shares and time-based LTIP Units as of December 31, 2019 are scheduled to vest as follows: 144,234 shares/units in 2020, 114,919 shares/units in 2021, 86,959 shares/units in 2022 and 54,202 shares/units in 2023. As of December 31, 2019, the estimated future compensation expense for all unvested restricted shares and time-based LTIP Units was $5.9 million. Compensation expense for the restricted share and time-based LTIP Units is being recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award. The weighted average period over which the future compensation expense will be recorded for the restricted shares and time-based LTIP Units is approximately 2.2 years.

As of December 31, 2019, the estimated future compensation expense for all unvested RSUs and market-based LTIP Units was $11.7 million. The weighted average period over which the future compensation expense will be recorded for the RSUs and market-based LTIP Units is approximately 2.1 years.

The assumptions and fair values for the RSUs and market-based LTIP Units granted for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 are included in the following table on a per share and unit basis.


	2019			2018			2017
Fair value of RSUs and market-based LTIP Units granted at the target amount	$	39.65		$	37.13		$	39.81
Fair value of RSUs and market-based LTIP Units granted at the maximum amount	$	15.91		$	14.90		$	15.97
Expected term (years)	4			4			4
Expected volatility	13.98		%	15.74		%	17.30		%
Expected dividend yield	—		%	1.68		%	1.59		%
Risk-free rate	2.52		%	2.26		%	1.49		%

During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, we recorded $14.4 million, $19.7 million and $21.4 million, respectively, of compensation expense, net of forfeitures, in general and administrative expense for grants to our Trustees, officers and employees related to our equity compensation plans. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur. At December 31, 2019, 2,859,628 shares/units remain available for issuance under the 2015 Incentive Plan.