SodaStream’s CEO Is Poised to Reap Up to $61 Million on PepsiCo Deal

(Bloomberg) -- SodaStream International Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Daniel Birnbaum could collect as much as $61 million if PepsiCo Inc. completes its acquisition.

PepsiCo said Monday it agreed to pay $144 a share in cash for the Israeli maker of fizzy-drinks dispensers, which is 11 percent above SodaStream’s closing price on Friday. Birnbaum owns 137,277 shares, which would result in a $19.8 million haul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Earlier this year, SodaStream shareholders were asked to approve three different equity awards for Birnbaum, entitling him to earn as many as 285,000 shares over several years if certain goals were met. Should they fully vest as part of the deal, he’d get an additional $41 million. Some of the shares are linked to stock return and it’s not clear they would vest in full at the $144 offer price.

As part of the equity grants, Birnbaum waived the right to get a $500,000 cash bonus and 100,000 stock options if SodaStream received at least $25 million in a third-party investment.

--With assistance from Michael S. Arnold.

To contact the reporters on this story: Anders Melin in New York at amelin3@bloomberg.net;Ben Stupples in London at bstupples@bloomberg.net;Alicia Ritcey in New York at aritcey@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill, Jonathan Roeder

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