Sept. 04--Michael Ball, former CEO of Lake Forest-based drugmaker Hospira Inc., just got a $90 million booster shot.
On Thursday, the same day that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. completed its acquisition of Hospira for $15 billion, Ball cashed in 1.4 million shares of stock, according to regulatory filings.
Ball had run Hospira, a maker of injectable drugs, infusion technologies and biosimilars, since 2011. He agreed in February to sell the company to Pfizer in a deal that valued Hospira at a 40 percent premium to its stock price.
When the deal was announced in February, Hospira's stock shot up 35 percent, to $87.64.
"These are heady numbers, but if I'm a Hospira shareholder, I'm pretty darn happy that Ball came in and positioned the company to be sold at a 40 percent premium," said Roger Strode, a health care business lawyer with Foley Lardner in Chicago.
Ball could not be reached for comment on Friday. Pfizer officials did not return a call.
Pfizer has said it plans to cut about $800 million from the combined companies but has not said where. Hospira has about 19,000 employees worldwide; an unknown number of Hospira employees stand to lose their jobs.
Ball could make money in another way from the deal. In February, the Hospira board amended its rules, allowing the company to pay "gross-ups," which make up for excise taxes on severance payments, likely worth thousands of dollars.
Ball spent $36.8 million to exercise his options and sold shares at $127.1 million, netting him $90.3 million.
Last year, Ball earned $11 million in salary, bonus and other compensation, according to the company's proxy statement.
