Disney chief's $500m from bid

DISNEY chief Michael Eisner, despised in some quarters for the perceived damage he has done to the company, is in line for at least $24m (£12.7m) in cash and would be able to exercise share options worth $500m if he were ousted as chairman following a successful bid for the company.

If the $54bn bid by Comcast for Disney succeeds, many analysts believe Eisner would be forced to leave, triggering the exercise of stock options that would make him Walt Disney's largest individual shareholder with a stake worth more than $500m.

Disney documents show that under his employment contract, he would be entitled to a 'post-termination' bonus of at least $6m for the two remaining years on the agreement plus another two years of bonus.

The four-year bonus grant would be cut to three years if he accepted a job at another entertainment company.

But his option grant is much more significant. The Disney documents say that, as of 27 January, Eisner owns options to buy 21.3m company shares at 60 days' notice. Analysts believe a successful Comcast deal would have to price the stock at about $25.

At that level, Eisner's stake would be worth $532m. His options have soared recently while he has come in for criticism as the share price has slumped.

Last year he had 12.3m exercisable at 60 days' notice. He now owns 13.9m Disney shares, giving him a 1.7% stake in the company.

If he exercised all his 21.3m options, his stake would jump to well above 4%, making him among the largest shareholders in a company in which no one owns more than 5%. He set a record for US executive pay in 1997 when he exercised options worth about $530m.

The pay-off would be contentious as Comcast president Steve Burke, a former Disney executive, says Comcast sees $200m to $300m in 'synergies' - usually a euphemism for cuts.

Eisner was recruited as chairman in 1984 with Frank Wells as president and Jeffrey Katzenberg as head of animation.

Wells died in a plane crash in 1993. Eisner underwent heart surgery in the same year, and also dismissed Katzenberg.

Four years later, Eisner set an executive pay record with $570m in stock options, and the Disney share price slumped. Eisner's position was strengthened by a partial recovery in profits in 2002. Roy Disney and Stanley Gold left the board a year later to set up outside opposition to Eisner.

Now the company is the target of Comcast's $54bn bid.