Mergers and buyouts often bring windfalls to top executives. Remember Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan (photo) and his $33 million golden handshake after Merck (NYSE: MRK) bought his company? Or the $24 million bonus check for Wyeth's Bernard Poussot (photo), once Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) took the reins?
Genzyme's Henri Termeer (photo) is no different, as BNet Pharma reports. If Sanofi-Aventis succeeds in buying his company, Termeer will get a $22.5 million package, including an $11 million cash bonus and almost $11 million of equity awards. (That's according to Genzyme's 2009 proxy; the numbers might vary in the 2010 documents, which haven't yet been filed.)
Of course, with Sanofi and Genzyme reportedly far apart on price, Termeer's change-in-control bonus could be a moot point. Analysts and unnamed sources are about the only people talking about this deal, but most agree that Sanofi will have to pay more than it's yet offered, officially $69 per share. But Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher (photo) isn't about to overpay for the biotech. Whether a happy medium can be found remains to be seen.
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