In the wake of yesterday’s news that Google is acquiring Motorola’s mobile division in a $12.5 billion deal, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha could rake in some major cash if he decides to leave the company.
According to calculations from the WSJ and the Hay Group, if Jha exits Google within the next two years, he could stand to gain more than $62 million. That figure includes Jha’s potential severance payments and the value of his unvested stock options and restricted stock, based on yesterday’s $40 per share deal.
In January, as part of Motorola Mobility's separation from its former parent, company directors agreed that Jha should hold a 1.8 percent stake in the new company and gave him 318,000 shares of restricted stock and nearly 2.9 million stock options to meet that level. Those shares and options are supposed to vest over as long as three years but would vest immediately if Jha leaves following a change of company control, said the WSJ.
Motorola and Google both said that, for now, Jha plans to stay and oversee the company’s mobile and home business.
