At Merrill, Mr O'Neal worked without a severance contract and would be expected to forfeit any options that do not come due until after he has left. But according to the Merrill proxy, the compensation committee has "discretion" to award severance benefits. Mr O'Neal could walk away with an even bigger pay package if he left after a deal to sell the company. Under Merrill's change-in-control policy, Mr O'Neal would be entitled to a payout of $US274 million.