The former chief executive of PeopleSoft has received a severance package in excess of $16m (£9m), following his ousting earlier this month from the embattled software company.
Craig Conway, who fought a hostile takeover battle with software rival Oracle for 15 months, was axed over allegations that he had been less than truthful on the effects the protracted battle was having on the company’s sales.
In his severance package, Conway received $3.2m (£1.8m) in salary and bonuses, as well as accelerated payments on his restricted stock worth $13.3m (£7.3m), based on PeopleSoft’s current share price.
He also received an additional sum for stock options that would have paid out within the next two years, according a filing on Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
If Oracle’s takeover of PeopleSoft is successful it will create one of the largest providers of HR software in the world. Many of the world’s largest companies use either Oracle or PeopleSoft software to run parts of their businesses.
While Oracle has promised it would continue to make PeopleSoft software in the event of a takeover, critics have warned this might mean the software will not be developed, soon rendering it obsolete.
