Mirant CEO's 2007 pay slashed

By Sayantani Ghosh

BANGALORE, March 28 (Reuters) - Independent power producer Mirant Corp (MIR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Edward Muller saw his 2007 compensation package shrivel 82 percent from a year earlier as he was granted fewer new stock options.

A proxy filing by Mirant, which last November abandoned a plan to sell itself and instead decided to return $4.6 billion in cash to shareholders, showed Muller's 2007 compensation plunged to about $3.3 million from $18 million in 2006.

Compensation is based on salary, bonus, the value of stock options and other awards granted during the year, and incentives and perks.

Muller, who has been the company's chief since September 2005, saw his salary nudge up to $1.1 million from $1 million in 2006.

His non-equity incentive plan compensation dropped by $50,000 to $1.2 million. Other compensation came in at $179,956.

Muller received only $814,368 in option awards, under Mirant's 2005 omnibus incentive compensation plan. He had been granted $15.6 million in options in 2006, some of which vest in four equal instalments and expire in January 2016.

Muller, 56, who led Mirant out of bankruptcy in early 2006, is also on the board of Transocean Inc (RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest offshore drilling contractor.

Atlanta-based Mirant, whose market value has fallen about 15 percent since it took itself off the sale block, reported a 7 percent jump in 2007 profit to about $2 billion. Its operating revenue fell 35 percent to $2.02 billion.