Motorola boss offered $66M golden parachute in Google purchase

A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee, usually a top executive, that specifies the benefits a person would receive in the event of termination of employment. The practice provides reassurance that a company will retain key executives after a merger is completed.

According to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jha's potential payout totals $13.2 million in cash and $52.4 million in equity compensation. Roughly $35 million in similar incentives has also been promised to four other top executives of Motorola Mobility.

Jha served as co-CEO of Motorola from August 2008 until he became head of Motorola Mobility, the former Mobile Devices division of Motorola, in January 2011. Under his supervision, Motorola adopted Android as its primary smartphone operating system in late 2009.

Starting with the original

">Droid

In August, Google announced plans to acquire Motorola Mobility for

">$12.5 billion

Google's acquisition of Motorola would give it some 17,000 issued and 7,500 filed patents, which could be used by the search giant to defend its Android ecosystem but also to target competitors, including Apple, in future mobile-related patent cases.

Currently engaged in legal battles with Android device makers like Samsung, HTC and Motorola, Apple has filed motions to stay for two Motorola lawsuits, arguing that the company lacks the right to enforce its patents until the Google acquisition is finalized.