It's not unusual for executives to have so-called golden parachutes that trigger when their company is sold. Compared with the $400 million TD might have had to pay, that sounds like a bargain. But as a proportion of the overall deal value, Cowen’s executives punch above their weight. So even if Cowen’s top brass have agreed not to open their golden parachutes, they’ll still land at TD with considerable impact. The deal included a renegotiation of the severance packages held by Cowen’s top six executives, including Chief Executive Jeffrey Solomon.

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