The chief executive of Discovery, David Zaslav, received a US$246mln pay package for the past year as the company prepares to close its merger with WarnerMedia and a broadcast deal with BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A).
The huge salary has jumped from US$37mln in 2020 after he was awarded a US$202mln option as part of his contract extension, the company revealed in a regulatory filing.
Zaslav’s base salary remained at US$3mln for 2021, plus US$13mln of shares awards, a US$22mln equity incentive plan and a new US$4.4mln special bonus for his “exceptional leadership” through Covid, launching Discovery+ and securing the WarnerMedia deal.
Discovery said the US$202mln option are not “actual payments” and said it was not certain that the full fair value “will ever be realized” as the options require the stock price to rise to US$35 for the first tranche to be exercised, for example, from Monday’s close price of US$23.99.
Shareholders in the company last week backed the agreed merger with WarnerMedia, which is being spun off by AT&T, with the pair raising US$30bn (£23bn) for their media joint-venture in one of largest-ever corporate debt sales.
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The deal is expected to close next month.