SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc.'s (YHOO.O: Quote) Chief Executive Terry Semel exercised options on 7 million shares, which after deducting the prices paid for the stock, netted him $173.6 million in 2005, the company said in a U.S. regulatory filing on Friday.
Semel, the chairman and CEO of the world's largest Internet media company, also received restricted stock now worth $7.8 million and out-of-the-money options to buy 3.3 million shares as 2005 compensation, Yahoo said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
A former Hollywood movie mogul turned Internet investor, Semel took over as Yahoo's top executive five years ago. He held another 17 million in unexercised options at the end of 2005 that could be worth roughly $236 million.
On joining Yahoo in 2001, he was granted options to buy 20 million shares, which fully vested in April 2005. From 2003 through the end of 2005, Semel sold Yahoo shares worth around $429 million.
The options on 3.3 million shares awarded Semel in 2005 include 2 million shares at a strike price of $34.75 and a bonus option on 1.3 million shares in lieu of cash, with a strike price of $40.68, or 33 percent above the price on the day of the grant, according to Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens.
Based on Yahoo's closing price on Thursday of $31.13, the current value of these options is zero. Yahoo stock has lost 20.5 percent of its value since the start of 2006.
The value of the restricted stock, which was $8.69 million on the day of the grant, has since fallen to $7.8 million.
In contrast, Semel received options to buy 7.2 million shares in 2004. These included a bonus option of 1.8 million shares and an annual review option of 4 million shares, resulting in a total current value of $59.6 million. An additional 1.4 million shares were granted in December 2004 at a strike price of $37.08, which remain out of the money.
Semel's total compensation for both 2004 and 2005 included base salary of $600,000 and $1,980 in life insurance premiums.
Shares of the Sunnyvale, California-based company rose 4 percent during the course of 2005, outpacing the lackluster performance of the major U.S. stock indexes.
But Yahoo's performance was well off the 15 percent gain in the same period by the Goldman Sachs Internet index, which was driven by a 115 percent gain in the stock price of rival Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote) during the course of 2005.
Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker received restricted stock worth $7.2 million and a cash bonus of $1 million, along with 657,000 stock options and a base salary of $500,000.
The annual meeting of Yahoo shareholders is scheduled to be held May 25 in Santa Clara, California.
