The ultimate golden parachute - Energy company boss to get $44m exit package for TWENTY minutes in his post

Bill Johnson is facing a $44m payoff after working for Prospect Energy and Duke Energy for 20 minutes

It exceeds that of former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond who got $26m

Utilities regulators are now considering investigating his abrupt resignation amid protests from shareholders

Former colleague calls the colossal farewell package ‘the most blatant example of corporate deceit’ he had ever seen



Temp staff: Bill Johnson was in charge of the newly merged Prospect Energy and Duke Energy for less than an hour before he was ousted

In the history of golden parachutes it has to be the most generous of them all.

The former boss of the largest electricity company in the US is to get a $44m payoff - for just 20 minutes work.

Bill Johnson was in charge of the newly merged Prospect Energy and Duke Energy for less than an hour before he was ousted.

According to Securities filings he could walk away with the colossal farewell package in what a former colleague has called ‘the most blatant example of corporate deceit’ he had ever seen.

Utilities regulators are now considering investigating his abrupt resignation amid protests from shareholders.

The Attorney General in North Carolina, where Duke is based, is also demanding it hand over board meeting minutes and other documents relating to the merger.

But should Mr Johnson receive his package it will be more than the $26m that former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond will receive after he was forced to resign amid a lending rate rigging scandal.

The $26billion merger of Duke Energy and Prospect Energy had taken 18 months to hammer out and would have cemented Duke’s position as the biggest electricity provider in America.

Regulator the North Carolina Utilities Commission had been told that Mr Johnson would take over as head of the newly formed company.

But according to Progress board member John Mullin III, Mr Johnson was asked to resign on Monday afternoon by the board some 20 minutes after the deal closed at 4.02pm having already won regulatory approval.

Duke Energy chief executive Jim Rogers was then put in his place, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Critics have claimed that the way it played out suggested it was choreographed beforehand.

The motive could have been to ensure that the merger won regulatory approval or give Mr Johnson as good a payoff as possible .

In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, Mr Mullin said: ‘I do not believe that a single director of Progress would have voted for this transaction as structured with the knowledge that the CEO of Duke, Jim Rogers, would remain as the CEO of the combined company.

Prominent: Duke Energy is based in North Carolina

' In my opinion this is the most blatant example of corporate deceit that I have witnessed during a long career on Wall Street’.

Former Progress Energy board member Alfred Tollison Jr, added: ‘Frankly, I felt misled.

‘Just from circumstantial evidence you would have to think it didn't happen overnight, that there was a lot of forethought given to it.’

The reaction of the markets was swift and credit rating firm Standard & Poor’s put Duke on a watch list which could lead to a downgrade due to concerns over corporate governance.

The drama also puts the spotlight on Mr Rogers again who has a remarkable record when it comes to coming out on top in mergers.

A prolific networker, he frequently flies to Europe where he dines with heads of state and world leaders, racking up $406,000 on corporate jet expenses last year alone.

Office: Bill Johnson was in charge of the newly merged Prospect Energy and Duke Energy for less than an hour before he was ousted

On two almost identical such mergers in the past he has wound up being the chief executive of the combined company - even if others were not so fortunate.

Frank O'Donnell, the head of environmental campaigners Clean Air Watch, said: ‘In Washington, presidents come and go, but Jim Rogers seems to be forever’.

Mr Johnson has declined to comment.