Pay cut for AT&T CEO after failed T-Mobile deal

AT&T Chairman, CEO and President Randall Stephenson.

By msnbc.com staff

AT&T’s failed attempt to take over rival T-Mobile USA cost the company a whopping $4.2 billion in break-up fees and other charges. But shareholders weren’t the only ones to suffer.

A regulatory filing shows AT&T’s board cut CEO Randall Stephenson’s 2011 pay by $2.08 million because of the botched deal. Stephenson’s 2011 short-term award payout was reduced by $1.2 million, or 25 percent, and his 2009 performance share award was cut by $820,000, the filing said.

The Associated Press, using its formula to calculate executive compensation, said the pay cut leaves Stephenson's 2011 total package at $18.7 million. His compensation was down from $20.2 million in 2010.

If the planned $39 billion deal had gone through it would have been the biggest U.S. takeover deal of 2011. Instead, AT&T said it would pay the biggest break-up fee in history when it became clear that regulators would not approve the transaction from an anti-trust perspective.

Should CEOs pay when deals go bad? Discuss on our Facebook page.