BAYER AG PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi's (>> Sanofi) new boss Olivier Brandicourt could earn up to 4.2 million euros (3 million pounds) a year at the drugs group and pocket an extra 4 million euros within 12 months as a one-off golden handshake.
The pay of the former medical doctor, due to take up his new role from April, was revealed in a statement from the company on Friday, a day after the 59-year-old Bayer (>> Bayer AG) executive was named as replacement for Chris Viehbacher, who was sacked in October.
Brandicourt will get 1.2 million euros as a fixed sum, plus a performance-related amount targeted at 150 percent of that and capped at 250 percent.
His fixed pay is slightly below Viehbacher's 1.26 million euro award for 2014, but at 250 percent against 200 percent, the variable portion makes his earnings potential higher.
Brandicourt will also get 220,000 stock options and 45,000 performance shares a year in Sanofi, matching Viehbacher's award.
He has a higher cash earnings potential than Patrick Pouyanne, who took over last October as CEO of oil group Total (>> Total), which vies with Sanofi for status as France's largest company by stock market value.
Pouyanne has the same fixed salary, but his variable pay is capped at 165 percent.
Rival U.S. drug company Pfizer (>> Pfizer Inc.), similar in size by annual revenue, paid its chief executive Ian Read a $1.8 million 2013 salary plus an annual incentive award of $3.4 million for a total $5.2 million (3 million pounds), with stock awards and stock options on top.
Brandicourt's 4 million euro golden handshake, billed as compensation for loss of benefits at his former employer, is split into two parts: the first 2 million will be paid when he reports for work on April 2; the second will be paid in January 2016 "subject to conditions of continued employment".
(Editing by Alexandria Sage and David Holmes)
By Andrew Callus
