Vodafone's CEO, Arun Sarin is set to pick up a bonus worth up to £45 million (US$90 million) in stock options thanks to recent surges in the company share price. Vodafone shares have risen by a third in the past 12 months, albeit after a bad year previously - beating the FTSE 100, which has risen by less than 4%.
The Sunday Times newspaper reports that Sarin could exercise share options worth £10m immediately, although it notes that he has rarely sold shares in a company he is working for at the time. Depending on whether he meets performance targets, he could earn the full amount if he stays on until the middle of 2009.
The newspaper says that he had planed to step down from the company in the middle of 2008, but has been persuaded to stay by the Chairman, Sir John Bond following the success of his policy of investing in emerging markets.
The £45 million payout includes shares that Sarin owns outright, worth £11.4m. Another £3.6m is tied up in the deferred bonus scheme. Two more tranches of share options, worth £8.7m, are exercisable in summer 2008 and 2009, depending on earnings-per-share growth. Sarin also has performance shares totalling £11.8 million which are linked to the share performance of the company compared to its peers in the London stock exchange.
On the web: The Sunday Times
Posted to the site on 30th December 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/28325.php