Ann: Issue of Shares on Exercise of Options, page-3

If you are holding options to buy a share at a specific price, you have a choice. You can exercise the option (buying the share at the given price); you can sell the option to somebody else; or you can let it lapse.

If an option is "in the money" - meaning that the share you have the option to buy is trading at a higher price than the exercise price - then letting it lapse is a really bad move. You're basically throwing money away. So you either sell the option to somebody else, hopefully making most of the difference between the exercise price and the current price; or you exercise it.

The fact that people are exercising options that are in the money is entirely expected. The company gets the money from the options (in this specific instance), and the people get shares to either hold or sell, as they see fit. I would expect all of these options to be exercised before they expire - you'd be a fool to let them just expire. And if you're looking to flip the shares for a quick profit - well, why not? It's entirely reasonable to do so. Waiting until the last minute when there's a hefty sum on the table right now is a risky game; there's nothing wrong with taking the definite, confirmed profit right now.

It's like my parcel of Peak shares. I could sell now for a very useful profit. Or I can hold on in the hope of bigger gains later on.

Point is - there's money to be made, so the options are going to be exercised. I'd be more concerned if I didn't see regular announcements of this type right now.