Pharmaceutical mergers can be lucrative, especially for executives.
The $25 billion purchase of Forest Laboratories by Actavis (ACT) is a case in point, as one standout 8-K filing from last week’s Securities and Exchange Commission data dump revealed.
The pharma company had received FTC approval earlier for the deal, which was announced in February. As part of that agreement, Actavis will pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in “merger success awards” to its top executives, according to the new filing.
While such payments are not unheard of in merger deals, the scale of Actavis’ promises was huge. The total extra award money could be as high as $186 million if the company meets its performance goals for the merger.
So, who’s getting what?
- Newly-named CEO Brenton Saunders: $15 million off the bat, and as much as $68.5 million if goals are met.
- Chairman Paul Bisaro, formerly the CEO: $15 million base award, and as much as $49.6 million if goals are met.
- Robert Stewart, chief operating officer: $5 million base, and as much as $18.4 million.
- William Meury, EVP of commercial, North American brands: $5 million base, and as much as $16.31 million.
- David Buchen, EVP of commercial, North American generics and international: $5 million base, and as much as $17.2 million.
- Todd Joyce, chief financial officer: $5 million base, and as much as $15.99 million.
(All high-end amounts include option awards.)