Allergan execs could reap $37M after buyout

Let's assume, for discussion's sake, that some large pharma is kicking tires at Allergan. (The company's stock soared earlier this week on talk that GlaxoSmithKline is doing just that, but absent confirmation, we're going with the anonymous suitor. For now.) And let's assume that Allergan thinks it just might do a deal. What incentive would company officials have to push a merger through? Some $37 million, according to a proxy analysis at BNet Pharma. Quite a tasty morsel, yes?

Now, the big payout only comes if there's a change in control at Allergan, and the buyer cleans house, sending CEO David Pyott, CFO Jeffrey Edwards, and other top execs packing. In that case, Pyott would reap $15.7 million, with Edwards netting $4.06 million. President Michael Ball would get $5.7 million; General Counsel Douglas Ingram, $5.83 million; and EVP of R&D Scott Whitcup, $5.62 million.

If Pyott made a deal but kept his job, he'd still get a $2.3 million bonus. But that's all in about two-and-a-half months' work for Pyott, whose compensation package for 2008 totaled $11.9 million.

- read the item at BNet

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