Nice payout for canceled options

MERCURY INTERACTIVE ACQUIRED FOR $4.5 MILLION

By Chris O'Brien
Mercury News

Hewlett-Packard of Palo Alto made a big bet last month when it paid $4.5 billion in cash to acquire Mercury Interactive. The Mountain View software company had become one of many Silicon Valley companies caught up in the stock option backdating scandal.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had begun probing Mercury Interactive in the summer of 2005. And by November 2005, the company's board found several executives had manipulated the grant dates of stock options and forced the resignation of Chief Executive Amnon Landan, Chief Financial Officer Douglas Smith and General Counsel Susan Skaer.

Bad news for them. But thanks to the acquisition, a dozen remaining Mercury insiders had much happier endings.

Read more here.