Time Warner Cable CEO In Line for $80M Severance Once Comcast Deal Closes

Rob Marcus, the relatively new CEO of Time Warner Cable, will receive a $79.9 million severance package, consisting of cash, equity and benefits, once the $45 billion, all-stock transaction with Comcast Corp. closes.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday, Comcast said Marcus stands to take home $56.5 million in restricted stock units and unvested options, as well as $20.5 million in cash. In addition, there’s a $2.5 million bonus contingent on Time Warner Cable’s performance through the completion of the merger.

Marcus, 48, was CEO for less than two months (he previously served as COO since 2010) when he agreed to Comcast’s takeover offer last month. In 2012, he earned $10.1 million, so the golden-parachute payout for which he is in line represents almost eight times the amount he made two years ago.

The Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal now faces regulatory and antitrust scrutiny, but companies including AT&T predict the two firms will be allowed to combine, creating the largest cable operator in the United States.