Nabors CEO: Stock falls. He's removed. Gets $100 million.
Nabors CEO Eugene Isenberg is removed as Nabors CEO but stays on as chairman. Although stock has fallen 38 percent since 2006, he nets $100 million payment.
The Nabors 27E rig drilled the surface section of the second well at the Point Thomson central pad in Alaska's North Slope in this 2009 file photo. But the rig was later removed. The lack of demand for oil rigs has hurt the company's stock, prompting the removal of Nabors CEO Eugene Isenberg.
Business Wire/File
A lot of attention being paid to MF Global's bankruptcyand to whether CEO Jon Corzine will be leaving or not, and whether his expected $12.1 million payout is excessive or not.
But there's a lot more talk about Nabors CEO Eugene Isenberg: he's been removed as CEO, but will remain as chairman of the board. Mr. Isenberg will receive $100 million (cash!) due to changes in his employment contract. Retiring and getting $100 million?
Andrew Gould recently retired as CEO of Schlumberger in August. He did not get $100 million.
True, NBR has grown considerably since Mr. Isenberg became the head of NBR in 1987. But one analyst noted that during the past five years (2006-2010), Mr. Isenberg has received nearly $174 million in compensation, but during that time NBR’s stock declined 38 percent versus a gain of 35 percent for the Oil Service Sector Index.
NBR has performed poorly recently because demand for rigs are down.
NBR was trading on either side of positive and negative, despite markets being down, as the market appears to believe retiring Mr. Isenberg is a positive and that some much-needed restructuring is likely to occur. COO Anthony Petrello, who has worked with Isenberg for years, will take over as CEO.