Former CEO declines $100M severance pay

Nabors Industries' CEO Eugene Isenberg was replaced in October. He'll resign as chairman at the end of his current term in June, after which he'll become chairman emeritus.

As per his contract, negotiated in 2009, his termination would mean that Nabors would pay him a whopping $100 million in severance, with another $7 million in deferred bonus payments.

It was set to be "one of the largest termination payments in U.S. corporate history," the Wall Street Journal reported.

Isenberg, 82, has turned down the money — acknowledging shareholders' discomfort with the deal — hoping that Nabors will donate a large chunk to charity instead.

"I am fortunate to have been very successful in my career, and it has always been my intention to donate this money to charity," Isenberg, now 82, explained in a statement, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"I ultimately concluded that everyone's interests, including the company's and our shareholders', were best served by this new arrangement. It is my hope that the company utilizes a substantial portion of these savings for worthy charitable purposes," Isenberg said.

In exchange for forfeiting the massive payment, Nabors will give Isenberg's estate $6.6 million upon his death.

Forgoing the $100 million payment "should be a sign of good faith to shareholders that the company is trying to be more fiscally disciplined and turn the culture around," Luke Lemoine, an analyst at Capital One Securities in New Orleans, wrote in a note to investors.