Around $80 million in “golden parachute” payments will be available to the CEOs of DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co. in the event the combined companies — DowDuPont — split into three.
Midland, Mich.-based Dow and Wilmington, Del.-base DuPont announced their planned merger in December. Andrew Liveris, Dow's president and CEO since 2004, announced in February that he will leave the company by the middle of 2017.
The newest filing from the proposed DowDuPont says Liveris would get $52.8 million in cash, stock and other payments, including $40 million for his retirement.
DuPont CEO Edward Breen was named to the company's board of directors in early 2015 in a move to hold off an activist shareholder, then took over at CEO in October. He stands to potentially receive $27.2 million, according to the regulatory filing.
“Golden parachute” payments are contracts that give a top executive substantial benefits if the company is taken over and their employment is terminated as a result.
Meanwhile, antitrust regulators have extended the time period for reviewing the merger, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said earlier this week.
Regulators need additional information and materials to assess the merger, and the request would extend the waiting period another 30 days.
