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Heinz CEO William Johnson Would Get $56 Million 'Golden Parachute' If He's Fired

Heinz CEO To Get Huge Pay Out If He's Fired
Reuters
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H.J. Heinz Co. CEO William Johnson, left, and 3G Capital Managing Partner Alex Behring speak at a news conference at the world headquarters of the H.J. Heinz Co. on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in Pittsburgh. Billionaire investor Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and its partner on the deal. 3G Capital, are dipping into the ketchup business as part of a $23.3 billion deal to buy the Heinz ketchup company. (AP Photo/Keith Srakoci

March 4 (Reuters) - H.J. Heinz Co Chief Executive William Johnson would receive about $56 million if he gets terminated following the ketchup maker's acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the company said on Monday.

In its preliminary proxy statement, the world's largest ketchup maker also said the merger agreement, announced on Feb. 14, has been amended so that restricted stock units would vest in keeping with their existing schedule instead of all at once at the time of the merger.

Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen said Johnson's "golden parachute" payment would reflect his success in building shareholder value over his 15 years as CEO.

"This compensation consists of equity that Mr. Johnson accumulated over his 30-year career with Heinz and existing equity awards and contractual rights that were in place well before the announcement of the proposed merger," Mullen said.

Arthur Winkleblack, chief financial officer, and David Moran, CEO of Heinz Europe and its global infant nutrition business, would each get about $15.5 million in a similar scenario, Heinz said.

The filing also showed that the initial offer for Heinz, made by Brazilian private equity firm 3G and Berkshire, was for $70 per share. The buyers later raised their offer to $72.50.

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Before You Go

Food Scandals That Have Rocked The World
Horsemeat in Beef Products: Europe(01 of06)
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The ongoing horsemeat scandal has disrupted the food chain in a major way throughout Europe. Horsemeat has been found in various meat products sold in Europe ranging from burgers to frozen lasagna. Arrests have been made, innocence has been claimed and a lot of unrest and conversations about global food safety have resulted. (credit:Getty)
Tainted Milk: China(02 of06)
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China has had a slew of issues with tainted milk for the past several years. The scandal came to light in 2008 when at least six children died after consuming milk that contained melamine, an industrial chemical that causes kidney stones in children. Transparency was a huge issue in this scandal, as it was discovered that authorities investigated a dairy for a year before going public with the information about tainted products.In more recent years, other problems with China's milk have continued to arise. (credit:Alamy)
Mad Cow: Great Britain(03 of06)
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Mad cow disease was first discovered in the mid-1980s in the U.K. It wreaked havoc on the beef industry, and caused at least 80 deaths. There have been a few incidents of mad cow disease in the U.S. as well, one as recent as last year. The effects of mad cow are still present -- anyone that spent at least three months in the UK between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1996 is not able to donate blood. (credit:AP)
Pink Slime: U.S.(04 of06)
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"Pink slime" as a descriptor sounds pretty gross. Which is perhaps part of the reason why the term caught on like wildfire, and eventually led to several beef processing plants shutting down, along with libel cases against media organizations to boot. It all started when chef Jamie Oliver brought the term to light -- pink slime referred to a controversial beef additive made up of spare beef trimmings that have been treated with ammonium hydroxide to make them safe and at least semi-palatable.While the additive may have been safe enough for consumption (though not at all appetizing), fear-mongering coupled with distrust of the beef industry led to a massive outcry, and the closure of three plants. (credit:AP)
Sprouts with E. Coli: Europe(05 of06)
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In 2011, over 30 people died and over 3,000 people were sickened from sprouts that contained E. coli. This has been the world's deadliest E. coli outbreak. People in over a dozen countries were sickened before the sprouts were eventually linked to a German farm. (credit:AP)
Cantaloupe with Listeria: U.S.(06 of06)
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In 2011, the listeria outbreak in cantaloupe was noted as the deadliest outbreak of food-related illness in more than 10 years in the United States. Thirty people died and 146 were sickened. In 2012, there was another big cantaloupe recall from a different farm. The farm eventually shut its doors, noting "It’s just a matter of time when there will be another outbreak somewhere.” (credit:AP)
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