Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer stands to rake in $55 million in severance if her company is sold and she loses her job.
The hefty parachute package, disclosed in a regulatory filing late Friday, comes as the struggling web portal tries to auction off its Internet operations. If pushed out within a year of any sale, Mayer would be able to collect a bounty of cash and stock that would ease her exit beyond an already sizable personal fortune.
Yahoo’s board is weighing whether to sell the company’s still-widely used Internet operations like its sports, finance, and email after Mayer failed to turnaround the business during her nearly four-year tenure as CEO. It is said to have narrowed the list of potential suitors to 10 large companies like Verizon (VZ) and big private equity firms.
Mayer’s $36 million salary last year and even bigger severance packages, in some cases, have generated intense criticism in the past because of the company’s poor performance. The latest severance for a so-called “change is control,” or takeover, is likely to add fuel to the fire.
Mayer has been under intense pressure from investor Starboard Capital to sell the company. Earlier this week, Yahoo (YHOO) appeared to acquiesce to a major demand by giving the investment firm four board seats.