Romney kept reins on Bain, bargained hard on severance during absence

[salvorhardin]

Ah, so it wasn't that Romney was running the show at Bain after his departure, but that he was hanging on as CEO for leverage in negotiating his sweetheart 10-year severance package! And that's the real reason why Romney won't release tax records prior to 2009 -- the year his severance package ended.

Interviews with a half-dozen of Romney’s former partners and associates, as well as public records, show that he was not merely an absentee owner during this period. He signed dozens of company documents, including filings with regulators on a vast array of Bain’s investment entities. And he drove the complex negotiations over his own large severance package, a deal that was critical to the firm’s future without him, according to his former associates.

Indeed, by remaining CEO and sole shareholder, Romney held on to his leverage in the talks that resulted in his generous 10-year retirement package, according to former associates.

“The elephant in the room was not whether Mitt was involved in investment decisions but Mitt’s retention of control of the firm and therefore his ability to extract a huge economic benefit by delaying his giving up of that control,” said one former associate, who, like some other Romney associates, spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the company.

...

Romney’s exit dragged on, officials of the firm said, because it was a complex ordeal to extract Romney from dozens of partnerships and business entities of the firm, along with the negotiations over his compensation. The full tally of Romney’s 10-year compensation deal is not known because he has refused to release tax returns for the relevant period, which ended in 2009. In addition, his financial disclosures are sporadic and incomplete, and his assets are in a blind trust. Romney has released his 2010 tax returns and has said the only other release will be for 2011.

Full article: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2012/07/20/what-happened-when-mitt-romney-left-bain-capital-romney-kept-reins-bargained-hard-severance

[Igel]

1. Question

As sole shareholder, sole director, and CEO, the guy with all the power, the guy in the driver's seat who (it's claimed) was actively managing the company and in charge of all the decisions ... Who, exactly, was he negotiating with--and why was he bothering to negotiate?