Heinz CEO's $55m golden parachute

FILE - In this March 2, 2011 file photo, Heinz ketchup is seen on the shelf of a market in Barre, Vt. H.J. Heinz Co. says it agreed to be acquired by an investment consortium including billionaire investor Warren Buffett in a deal valued at $28 billion. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File) Source: AP

HEINZ CEO William Johnson is entitled to a golden parachute worth $US56 million ($55.27 million) if he's fired by the company's new owners.

Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital announced last month they are buying the tomato sauce maker for $US23.3 billion.

Pittsburgh-based Heinz disclosed Johnson's deal in a regulatory filing today.

The deal lets Mr Johnson walk away with $US40 million at any time if he chooses. He would be entitled to another $US16 million if the new owners were to let him go.

Mr Johnson is also entitled to a payout of $US99.7 million in vested stock and $US57 million in deferred compensation benefits that he accrued over his 30-year career with Heinz.

HJ Heinz Co. spokesman Michael Mullen says there has been no decision made about Mr Johnson's future with the company.

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FBI examining possible Heinz insider trade

• FBI investigating suspicious trade in Heinz
• Trades made one day before the Buffett deal
• Why has Warren Buffett bought beans?

THE FBI is examining possible insider trading in Heinz shares ahead of last week's buyout announcement, after US regulators identified suspicious trades from a Swiss account.

"We're aware of the trading anomalies the day before the announcement," said Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser on Tuesday.

"And we're consulting with the SEC to see if a crime was committed."

The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday it had identified highly suspicious Heinz trades made one day before Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital announced they were acquiring the condiment giant in a $US28 billion ($27.18 billion) deal.

The SEC said that it had obtained an emergency order to freeze a Swiss bank account suspected of use in the trades.

It said unknown traders earned $US1.7 million in profits through the "irregular and highly suspicious" trades booked on Wednesday.

The SEC says it believes the traders had knowledge of the takeover ahead of the announcement early on Thursday morning in New York.

Langmesser declined to say if the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the case.

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