Ask HN: Upon startup acquisition, can exercised equity be re-vested?
For people who have gone through a successful startup acquisition, has it ever happened that the acquirer company made you re-vest the equity that you already vested and exercised? And, if they did that, how did it work with employees who exercised their equity and then left the startup before the acquisition happened, bringing the equity with them? Were they subject to a new vesting schedule even if they were outside the company? Because that doesn't make a lot of sense.
Intuitively I would say that all the vested and exercised equity should be paid immediately shortly after the acquisition (regardless of whether one is inside or outside the company), and the unvested portion might get a new vesting schedule?
For this example I am assuming that the startup is selling at a price significantly above the last valuation, so all preferred shares convert to common and the terms were clean: 1X liquidation preferences, non-participating, and there was never emission of debt.
To be more specific, I happen to be an ex very early startup employee who left with a significant amount of equity. I was able to offload some of my equity to investors who contacted me privately, but I held on to the majority, and it looks like the startup might soon get acquired, and from the rumors I heard the rest of my pot might be worth a significant amount (low-mid 7 figures).
I will of course look for legal advice, but some tips one can get from experienced HN folks are invaluable as well.
Thanks