This lock-out period is something you can subscribe for voluntarily. It is mostly done for company founders whose company goes to the stock exchange; you don't

This lock-out period is something you can subscribe for voluntarily. It is mostly done for company founders whose company goes to the stock exchange; you don't want them to immediately sell all their shares because they would flood the market. In this case the author got a better deal for the conversion of his shares, for which he was apparently willing to lock up his position. That's why I don't understand the author's surprise that the stock price was moving after the reverse split. Of course there were other parties which didn't sign such a deal.