Merck Adopts Key Managers Benefits Plan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , whose shares have tumbled since the withdrawal of its blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx, said on Monday it has adopted a severance benefits plan aimed at protecting key managers in the event the company is taken over or liquidated. Merck said in a regulatory filing that under certain circumstances the company's management committee and other vice president-level managers, or about 230 people, would receive a package including cash, health benefits, possible retirement benefits and help with financial planning. On Sept. 30 Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke. The move sent its shares plunging and erased more than $25 billion from its market value. The company said the package would kick in if the company were subject to a change in control, defined as: an acquisition of more than 20 percent of the company; the current board ceasing to constitute a majority of the new board; liquidation; or a merger, consolidation or reorganization. Exceptions would apply if shareholders of Merck held at least 60 percent of the securities of the successor company prior to its merger with Merck, or if members of the board, before the transaction, constituted a majority of the board of the successor company. Merck's chief executive, Raymond Gilmartin, has consistently said he is not interested in a merger. Participants in the plan must sign a release of claims against the company, and a commitment not to solicit company employees for two years following the change in control. Quelle "Merck Adopts Key Managers Benefits Plan" : reuters.com Main page for "Merck Adopts Key Managers Benefits Plan"