That's correct. It was shortly after Steve took over as CEO. At the time a lot of options were underwater and Microsoft offered a buy-back plan where one could

That's correct. It was shortly after Steve took over as CEO. At the time a lot of options were underwater and Microsoft offered a buy-back plan where one could get a lump-sum payment in place of those options. In retrospect taking the buyback was the right decision as the Microsoft options had a 10 year expiry and most of the underwater options didn't climb back within their 10 year window.