What Is a Cashless Conversion?

什么是非现金转换？

A cashless conversion is the direct conversion of ownership, from one type of security to another, without any initial cash outlay by the holder. For instance, the conversion of a convertible bond from debt to equity in the form of common stock.

非现金转换是所有权的直接转换，从一种证券转换到另一种证券，持有人不需要任何初始现金支出。例如，将可转换债券从债务转换为普通股形式的股权。

Contracts for convertible securities define all the terms of the conversion at the onset of the trade. Often, the transfer of assets will be triggered automatically on a specific date or when a specific event occurs, such as with the expiration of certain options or warrants.

可转换证券合同规定了交易开始时的所有转换条款。通常，资产转让将在特定日期或特定事件发生时自动触发，如某些期权或认股权证到期。

Understanding a Cashless Conversion

关于非现金转换

A classic example of a cashless conversion is when preferred shares or convertible bonds are traded in for common stock.

非现金转换的一个经典例子是优先股或可转换债券转换为普通股。

Employee stock options, rights, and warrants can also be cashless if the strike is zero; however, they could also be a cashless exercise. In the case of employee stock options, this is when a broker provides the holder with a loan to exercise the options at the strike price.

如果执行价为零，员工股票期权、权利和认股权证也可以是非现金的；但是，它们也可以是非现金行权。就员工股票期权而言，这是指经纪人向持有人提供贷款，以执行价行使期权。

After paying fees and paying off the loan with the proceeds from selling some of the shares, the employee retains the remaining shares garnered from the options.

在支付费用并用出售部分股票所得偿还贷款后，员工保留从期权中获得的剩余股票。

Preferred Shares

优先股

Preferred stock is a class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on its assets and earnings than common stock. Preferred shares generally have a dividend that must be paid out before dividends to common shareholders.

优先股是公司的一种所有权，对其资产和收益的要求高于普通股。优先股通常有股息，必须在向普通股股东分红之前支付。

Some preferred stock is convertible, meaning it can be exchanged for a given number of common shares under certain circumstances. The board of directors might vote to convert the stock, the investor might have the option to convert, or the stock might have a specified date at which it automatically converts. The conversion from preferred to common stock is a cashless conversion.

一些优先股是可转换的，这意味着在某些情况下可以转换成一定数量的普通股。董事会可以投票转换股票，投资者可以选择转换，或者股票可以有自动转换的特定日期。从优先股到普通股的转换是非现金转换。

Convertible Bonds

可转换债券

A convertible bond is a type of debt security that can be converted into a predetermined amount of the underlying company's common stock at certain times during the bond's life, usually at the discretion of the bondholder. If triggered, the bond is swapped for common stocks, so it is a cashless conversion.

可转换债券是一种债务证券，可以在债券有效期内的特定时间转换为预定数量的标的公司普通股，通常由债券持有人决定。如果被触发，债券将被转换为普通股，因此这是一种非现金转换。

Cashless Exercise

非现金行权

A cashless exercise is a transaction in which certain securities are exercised without making any cash payment. Such a transaction utilizes a broker to provide a short-term loan so that the holder exercising the options has enough money to do so.

非现金行权是指在不支付任何现金的情况下对某些证券进行行权的交易。这种交易利用经纪人提供短期贷款，这样行使期权的持有人就有足够的钱来这样做。

Once the loan to exercise the options is in place, the holder then sells enough of the newly acquired shares to pay back the broker for the loan, fees, and taxes. The person exercising the conversion then possesses the remaining shares. This is a common process with employee stock options.

一旦行使期权的贷款到位，持有人就出售足够的新获得股票来偿还经纪人的贷款、费用和税费。行使转换权的人拥有剩余的股份。这是员工股票期权的常见流程。

Warrants

认股权证

Warrants give the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security—most commonly a stock—at a certain price before expiration. The price at which the underlying security is bought or sold is referred to as the exercise price or strike price; however, in order to be cashless, the warrant itself must be defined as a cashless warrant. In this case, the holder would pay the exercise price from the value of the shares received.

认股权证赋予了在到期前以某一价格购买或出售证券(通常是股票)的权利，而非义务。标的证券的买卖价格被称为行权价或执行价；但是，为了非现金，认股权证本身必须被定义为非现金认股权证。在这种情况下，持有人将从收到的股票价值中支付行权价。

For example, if the warrant is for the purchase of 10,000 shares at $1.00 per share, and the market price of the stock at exercise is $10.00 per share, the holder would, upon exercise, receive the market value of the shares ($100,000) minus $10,000 (shares multiplied by warrant strike) for a total value of $90,000 or 9,000 shares.

例如，如果认股权证以每股1.00美元的价格购买10,000股股票，而行权时股票的市场价格为每股10.00美元，持有人在行权时将获得股票的市场价值(100,000美元)减去10,000美元(股票乘以认股权证执行价)，总价值为90,000美元或9,000股。

Example of a Cashless Conversion

非现金转换示例

Convertible preferred shares have a conversion ratio, which describes how many common shares each preferred share can be converted to. For example, a $100 preferred share may have a conversion ratio of four. This means the holder can convert the $100 preferred into four common shares.

可转换优先股有一个转换比率，它描述了每股优先股可以转换成多少普通股。例如，100美元的优先股可能有4的转换率。这意味着持有人可以将100美元的优先股转换成四股普通股。

It may be beneficial to convert if the price of the common stock is trading above $25 ($100 / conversion ratio). Once converted though, the preferred shareholder becomes a common shareholder and is no longer entitled to the preferred dividend or a higher claim on assets. Therefore, the preferred shareholder may wish to wait until the common stock rises significantly before giving up their preferred shares.

如果普通股的交易价格高于25美元(100美元/转换比率)，则转换可能是有益的。一旦转换，优先股股东成为普通股股东，不再享有优先股股息或更高的资产要求权。因此，优先股股东不妨等到普通股大幅上涨后再放弃自己的优先股。

Assume the stock price rises to $40. For each $100 preferred share, the holder can get $160 worth of common stock (4 x $40). If they decide to convert the preferred shares, each preferred share will disappear from the account and be replaced by four shares of common stock. No cash changes hands, so it is a cashless conversion.

假设股价涨到40美元。每100美元的优先股，持有人可以获得价值160美元的普通股(4x 40美元)。如果他们决定转换优先股，每股优先股将从账户中消失，取而代之的是四股普通股。没有现金转手，所以是非现金转换。

How Does a Cashless Warrant Work?

非现金认股权证是如何运作的？

Upon exercise, a cashless warrant allows an investor to receive a certain number of shares without any outlay of cash. The "cashless" component refers to receiving a smaller amount of shares than would otherwise be received with a warrant plus cash.

在行权时，非现金认股权证允许投资者在没有任何现金支出的情况下获得一定数量的股票。“非现金”部分是指获得的股份金额少于将收到的认股权证加现金的金额。

How Is a Cashless Exercise Taxed?

非现金行权如何征税？

A cashless exercise is taxed as ordinary income. The amount taxed is the difference between the strike price (the price you can purchase the stock for) and the price the shares are sold for.

非现金行权作为普通收入征税。税额是执行价(你可以购买股票的价格)和股票出售价格之间的差额。

（英文来源：Investopedia）