Company: LAZ
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form Type: DEFA14A
Source: 0001140361-25-016471
Chunk: 3

Company: Lazard, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form: DEFA14A
Chunk 3
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 set forth in our definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on March 21, 2024 (the “2024 Proxy Statement”), the Company determined the grant date fair market value for our CEO’s Stock Price PRPUs to be approximately $18.8 million, calculated in accordance with SEC rules and U.S. GAAP. However, ISS values the Stock Price PRPUs at approximately $40.5 million due to simplistic methodology, which erroneously calculates the value of full-value equity awards by multiplying the number of shares by the closing stock price on the date of grant. This approach assumes all shares will eventually be earned and does not consider the rigor of the stock price hurdles (unlike the required fair market value calculation mandated by the SEC and U.S. GAAP). Using an Appropriate Fair Value Results in a “Low” Concern Regardless of the Peer Group Given ISS’s three-year measurement period, the value of this 2023 award continues to meaningfully affect the 2024 quantitative screen results. Using the SEC and U.S. GAAP determined value for the CEO’s Stock Price PRPUs produces a “low” concern under the ISS methodology using each of the Lazard Peer Group, the Changed ISS Peer Group and the Original ISS Peer Group. We Conducted Significant Shareholder Outreach and Responded to Feedback ISS asserts that the Company demonstrated limited responsiveness to shareholders following the advisory vote to approve the compensation of Lazard’s named executive officers for fiscal year 2023 at Lazard’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, particularly with respect to annual incentive determinations and concerns about a high burn rate. We strongly object to that characterization both with regard to our engagement process and the actual concerns of our shareholders. As detailed in the 2025 Proxy Statement, the Company extended meeting invitations to approximately 75% of our top 25 institutional shareholders and met with 100% of those who requested to meet with us, including shareholders representing approximately 60% of our institutional shares. Our Compensation Committee Chair participated in 90% of the proxy engagements with our top 25 institutional shareholders. The vast majority of the questions raised by shareholders during these engagements involved the Stock Price PRPUs and the amendment to the Company’s 2018 Incentive Compensation Plan proposed at Lazard’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, rather than the concerns noted by ISS. In particular, shareholders were generally supportive of the Stock Price

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PRPUs but expressed concern over the potential for repeated grant of such awards over