I agree that "Speculating on motives is fair but hardly sufficient to prove need".That's why I termed it my "interpretation" and "rationalization" only. Given history, I probably have less than a 1% probability of being right!
But a "good explanation for the large increase" would be an anticipation of a large increase in the number of new hires. Note that the options are intended to be granted over an expanded 7 year period. Not a short term grab for value in my mind.
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