Plains All American (PAA) Insider: Phantom Unit Grant and Unit Sale Reported
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Plains All American Pipeline insider filing: Chris Herbold, Senior Vice President Finance & Chief Accounting Officer, reported multiple transactions on 08/14/2025. The Form 4 shows a grant of 32,750 phantom units under the company long-term incentive plan that convert one-for-one into common units upon vesting and include distribution-equivalent rights. Tranche vesting conditions tie part of the award to total shareholder return versus peers and part to cumulative distributable cash flow per unit over a three-year performance period ending 6/30/2028. The filing also records an acquisition of 65,796 common unitssale of 23,284 common units241,073 common units
Positive
- Grant of 32,750 phantom units ties executive compensation to multi-year performance metrics (TSR and cumulative DCF), aligning management incentives with unit-holder outcomes
- Detailed vesting and payout terms disclosed, including scalable 0%–200% payout ranges and distribution-equivalent rights, providing transparency into incentive mechanics
- Reporting shows continued ownership with 241,073 common units retained after transactions, signaling ongoing stake in the company
Negative
- Sale of 23,284 common units at $17.78 reduced direct holdings, which may be viewed as partial divestment by the reporting officer
- Some transactions coded M with $0 price (65,796 units) could reflect non-cash conversions or settlements; the filing does not explicitly state the economic nature of that M-coded entry beyond the form codes
Insights
TL;DR: Compensation grant aligns management pay with multi-year TSR and cash-flow goals while insider sold a portion of holdings.
The 32,750 phantom-unit grant links pay to relative total shareholder return and cumulative distributable cash flow (DCF) targets through 6/30/2028, creating multi-year performance alignment. The grant includes distribution-equivalent rights with staged cash payments, which preserves economic equivalence to common units while vesting remains contingent on service and performance metrics. Separately, the reported sell of 23,284 units at $17.78 reduces the reporting person’s direct stake to 241,073 units after an M-coded acquisition of 65,796 units (zero price reported for that M-coded entry likely reflects a conversion/settlement event rather than open-market purchase). Overall, these are routine insider compensation and portfolio-management actions with limited immediate balance-sheet impact on the company.
TL;DR: Grant structure shows governance focus on long-term incentives and performance-based vesting.
The award’s structure—three tranches with time- and performance-based vesting plus potential payout scaling and modest reduction triggers tied to leverage—reflects standard governance practices to align executive incentives with long-term unit-holder outcomes. Disclosure clearly describes vesting schedules, performance metrics (TSR vs. peers; cumulative DCF per unit), payout ranges (0%–200%), and distribution-equivalent rights treatment. The sale of 23,284 units is plainly reported and does not appear to conflict with the described long-term incentive framework. From a governance perspective, disclosure is detailed and conforms to Section 16 reporting norms.