Happy Holidays, Every JUUL Employee Is Getting A $1.3 Million Bonus

CNBC – Juul’s 1,500 employees are getting a $2 billion bonus from Altria, averaging about $1.3 million each, as part of the tobacco giant’s $12.8 billion investment in the e-cigarette maker, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

The bonus is being paid out as a special dividend as part of the deal, which was announced Thursday.

How much employees get depends on a number of factors, including how long they’ve been with the company and how much stock they own, another person briefed on the terms said.

Juul is receiving the lump sum payout as part of the deal and has decided to share it with its staff, one of the people said.

Altria’s 35 percent stake values Juul at $38 billion.

Who’s back of the week:  nicotine.

Big gut punch for the FDA as they were celebrating their decades-long campaign against Big Tobacco, finally pushing them out of TV and magazines and getting them banned in basically every place that isn’t a private home’s backyard or a Mad Men re-run.

Turns out the new technological form of smoking is worth 38 mother fucking billion dollars.

Probably the best “company morale” move of all time.

Juul is paying a dividend of $150 per share to its investors as part of the arrangement, according to people close to the deal. That means that large Juul shareholders like Tiger Global Management will be paid $1.6 billion in cash, one person said — money that comes off the top of the $12.8 billion that Juul accepted in exchange for forfeiting 35 percent of the company.

Investors like Tiger aren’t giving up any shares for this payment, Recode is told. So not only are they receiving billions of dollars up front, but they’ll still hold hold onto their stock in a company now valued at $38 billion instead of the $16 billion Juul was valued at this summer.

Juul’s total payout to investors is expected to exceed the $2 billion that it is awarding to its employees, according to a person close to the deal. So although Altria is funneling $12.8 billion into the company, less than $8.8 billion is actually finding its way to Juul’s balance sheet after the investors and employees are paid off.

When Barstool was under fire, we got a sweet sizzle reel of all the funny stuff Dave did with pizza.

Juul employees got a million dollars.

…Juul decided to pay each employee something of an absurd holiday bonus — averaging out to more than $1 million each — to boost morale internally, according to a person close to the deal. It seems fair to assume that it will likely be attached to some retention clauses that keep Juul’s talent from looking for other jobs.

Talk about having that drip drip.

The next time The Daily Beast goes to press I want 1.3 milli direct deposited into my bank account or we riot.

[via Recode]