DealBook: Big Pay Day for Yahoo’s New C.E.O.

ReutersScott Thompson

Scott Thompson is getting a very friendly welcome to Yahoo.

The Internet pioneer disclosed in a regulatory filing late on Friday what its incoming chief executive stands to receive when he begins work on Monday or soon thereafter. It’s a package with a hefty amount of stock grants worth about $22.5 million, atop a $1 million annual salary.

Here’s how Mr. Thompson’s golden welcome mat breaks down:

• A base cash salary of $1 million
• An annual stock bonus with a target of 200 percent of his base salary, or $2 million
• An annual stock grant for 2012 set at $11 million
• A onetime “inducement” stock grant worth $5 million
• A “make-whole” cash bonus of $1.5 million, to make up for payouts he is forfeiting by leaving his current post as president of eBay‘s PayPal unit
• A “make-whole” restricted-stock grant of $6.5 million, for the aforementioned reasons

Total: $4.5 million in cash, $22.5 million in stock.

Mr. Thompson won’t be receiving that total value right away. The make-whole stock grants, for example, will completely vest next year.

He will receive other perks as well, including four weeks of paid vacation and reimbursement of up to $25,000 in legal fees connected with negotiating his employment contract. And if he is terminated without cause, his make-whole stock grants will fully vest immediately.

The amounts are fairly comparable to what Mr. Thompson’s predecessor, Carol A. Bartz, received when she joined Yahoo in 2009. The company disclosed in January of that year that Ms. Bartz would receive a $1 million salary and stock and cash grants worth $19 million. She also received stock options worth 5 million shares that were exercisable at $11.73.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/big-pay-day-for-yahoos-new-c-e-o/?partner=rss&emc=rss