Merrill Lynch (MER) will reportedly pay new CEO John Thain a good amount to help lead the company out of the credit crunch. Thain was wooed from NYSE Euronext (NYX), where he headed up the exchange.
Total compensation for Thain will be at around $43.8 million, according to an 8-K regulatory filing on Friday. That will include salary, restricted stock and bonuses. Also included will be stock options, of which most will be tied to performance.
After the company reported an $8.4 billion write-down from the credit and subprime problems, former Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal stepped down.
According to thestreet.com, Thain's compensation will include "an annual salary of $750,000, a cash bonus for fiscal 2007 of $15 million, and 'sign-on awards' of 1.8 million Merrill stock options and 500,000 shares of restricted stock worth $28.06 million as of Friday's close. Future bonuses aren't guaranteed and will be determined by the company's board."
The restricted stock and stock options are meant to compensate Thain for what he lost be leaving NYSE.
Thain of course will have a difficult job ahead of him, as the inability to accurately determine the worth of asset-backed securities, adds unpredictability which makes the short-term future with these securities very uncertain. Thain says he doesn't believe we've seen the bottom yet.
Replacing Thain at NYSE will be president and co-chief operating officer Duncan Niederauer.
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