Verizon Grants Killian, McAdam $4.5M Stock Bonuses

'Tis the season for giving: Verizon Communications has approved stock grants currently worth about $4.5 million each to chief financial officer John Killian and Verizon Wireless president and CEO Lowell McAdam.

The company said the grants were made after its board "engaged in an ongoing succession planning effort" with chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg.

Verizon disclosed the "performance-based" stock grants, approved Dec. 18, in an 8-K filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The shares are payable after Dec. 31, 2012, provided the executives are still employed with Verizon. The number of units that vest will be based on Verizon's return on equity during that period, and the agreements require Killian and McAdam to hold the shares for an additional two years after they vest.