Marissa Mayer will walk away with a $55 million severance package if Yahoo’s auction of its Internet operations culminates in a sale that ousts her from her job, reported
The Associated Press.
The payout, which was disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, would consist of cash, stock awards and other benefits if the chief executive is forced out within a year after a sale.
Although Yahoo’s board is still evaluating takeover offers, many investors are betting that the company will decide to sell its well-known brand and Internet businesses, including an email service and news sections focused on sports and finance.
Mayer, a former Google executive, has been largely unsuccessful in her efforts to turn around Yahoo’s fortunes. The company’s long-running slump has deepened during her reign, making her compensation – and whether she remains after a possible sale – a topic of great interest.
“I don’t think this management team has done anything to merit a huge payout,” said Eric Jackson, managing director of SpringOwl Asset Management, a Yahoo shareholder that has been critical of Mayer’s leadership.
Yahoo declined to comment beyond its filing. The documents do not explain the rationale for severance deals covering Mayer and other Yahoo executives, although such agreements are common at many publicly held companies.
Last year, Mayer received a compensation package that was valued at nearly $36 million under the S.E.C.’s rules. In the filing, Yahoo’s board said it was more like $14 million.
The chances of a sale happening at Yahoo increased earlier this week when the company reached a truce with the activist investor Starboard Value, an outspoken critic of Ms. Mayer’s that has been pushing her to sell. Starboard’s chief, Jeffrey C. Smith, is now one of three Yahoo directors on a special committee assessing the bids for the Internet business.
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