The Deal
Sunday, November 8, 
8:15 am

Ka-ching! Thain and Montag set for big paydays after Merrill buyout

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Merrill Lynch & Co.'s CEO John Thain and trading division head Thomas Montag are positioned to reap big rewards for steering the investment bank through 2008's rough financial waters into the safe port of a Bank of America Corp. acquisition.

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After taking over Merrill last December, Thain is positioned to receive $11 million on the vesting of free shares if he leaves after the deal closes, according to Bloomberg. An even sweeter deal is in store for Montag, who after joining in August, is set to collect $30 million in accelerated stock awards and $6.4 million in options if he loses his job or has his responsibilities reduced after a change of control. Bank of America is likely to keep the superstar trader right where he is after the takeover, especially after shelling out the $39 million bonus Montag is guaranteed in January.

To be sure there will be job losses at both Merrill and Bank of America. The Deal's Lisa Lee writes:

the two firms clearly overlap in several areas, including in investment banking services such as fixed income, leveraged finance and equities. One banker at another firm said a Merrill person is most likely to head the investment banking unit after the merger. "Bank of America bankers are more nervous," the source said.

Merrill has been beefing up its ranks this year. The investment bank recently hired George "Woody" Young III as global head of technology, media and telecommunications investment banking. And a week before adding Young, Merrill hired Michael Nierenberg from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to head the global mortgages and securitized products businesses, and James De Mare from Citigroup Inc. was added to run the company's mortgage trading operations. - George White

See Bloomberg story
See Crisis on Wall Street Dealwatch
See Dealscape post on Merrill's stars
See story on Merrill culture on TheDeal.com
For more Movers & shakers see The Deal newsweekly's dealmaker section





Comments

From: Really Disgusted,

The obscene golden parachutes provided for the men who have run their companies into the ground and are coming up with millions of dollars while the employees of these same companies are losing their jobs and probably their retirements MUST stop! This type of insanity has to stop. The good old boys certainly do look out for each other, don't they? NO CEO is worth that kind of money -- nobody is worth that kind of money!!!


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