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O'Neal Exit Package Is All That's Left

Lawyers crafting golden parachute for Merrill CEO after $8.4B losses

By Lucas Laursen,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 30, 2007 4:37 AM CDT

(Newser) – CEO Stan O’Neal has leaped from the flames of Merrill Lynch after its $8.4 billion write-down last week, but nobody yet knows the size of his golden parachute, writes the Wall Street Journal. Teams of lawyers are negotiating an exit package that may exceed $160 million, reflecting 21 years of service, including five as CEO, say spokesmen.

“I’d be surprised if they go beyond” the standard CEO entitlement, said an analyst. O’Neal cashed in options worth over $57 million between 1999 and 2007, according to regulatory findings. His most valuable options were granted at post-9/11 prices for his nonstop efforts to salvage the firm’s operations after the terrorist attacks dispersed thousands of Merrill staff.

Stanley O'Neal, Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., is seen in New York in this Nov. 1, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)
Stanley O'Neal, Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., is seen in New York in this Nov. 1, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)   (Associated Press)
A Merrill Lynch office. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A Merrill Lynch office. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)   (Associated Press)
Construction cranes work over the Freedom Tower site at the World Trade Center, Wednesday, May 30, 2007, in New York. The trade center, destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be anchored by the Freedom Tower, as well as three additional office towers, a memorial and a transportation...
Construction cranes work over the Freedom Tower site at the World Trade Center, Wednesday, May 30, 2007, in New York. The trade center, destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be anchored by...   (Associated Press)
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