AT&T execs punished for failed T-Mobile deal
Apparently failure is not an option when it comes to mega deals being pursued at AT&T, and no one knows this better than Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson.
For his role in AT&T’s failed $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile USA, the company’s board cut Stephenson’s 2011 compensation by $2.08 million, AT&T disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Associated Press. The figure reflects a cut in his cash bonus and stock options.
OK, Stephenson’s total compensation was still $18.7 million, but $2 million isn’t exactly chump change.
In the SEC filing, AT&T noted that while it had “strong operational performance” during the year (it made $3.9 billion), it took a big hit when it left T-Mobile at the altar, and someone has to help foot the bill. AT&T had to give its rival $4.2 billion in cash and spectrum rights, the AP reported.
Stephenson, however, wasn’t the only one to take a pay hit. The SEC filing also said the pay of other executive officers was docked.
Facing opposition from federal antitrust regulators, AT&T dropped its bid for T-Mobile in December.
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54 comments Add your comment
mamaj
February 23rd, 2012
9:21 pm
I hate AT&T and all it stands for. I will not even try to feign caring for any CEO who loses a couple of million dollars in some failed deal. Believe me, whatever he lost, it was made up immediately, in the form of higher customer bills, (February), reduced retirement benefits, and whatever else they can tack on to make up the deficits. There’s a reason they are always at the bottom in customer service, and it’s not in anyone’s head,either.
att!@
February 23rd, 2012
10:31 pm
compensation cut to $18 million???? how will he get by? will he postpone his new bentley purchase and beach masnion upgrade?
Netbanker
February 24th, 2012
1:32 pm
“And frankly, they deserve what they get paid. As much as some would like it to not be, it’s still an open market.” Acutally the executive compensation “market” has been gamed for years. First of all there is no legal requirement that shareholders get to vote on executive compensation packages. Some companies do so voluntarily and the majority of those take the results as ‘advisory.’ Shareholders own the company so they should have a greater say than the Compensation Committees formed from Boards of Directors which are packed with other CEO’s. The unspoken secret is that these guys sit on each other’s boards and approve each other’s packages…it’s the good ol’ boy network in action.
There is no business reason why executive compensation over the past 30 years has increased from approximately 30-40 times the average worker pay at a company to 300-450 times the average worker pay. Executive responsibilities haven’t changed significantly enough to explain why those at the top are so much more “valuable” than average workers when measured by pay.
Truth
February 24th, 2012
3:22 pm
I feel bad for this guy. Can you imagine how pi$$ed off his wife is going to be?
Im sure she had some friggin plans for that $2M, bet your butt!!!