Channel stalwart Level 3 Communications is giving a $1.2 million bonus to president and CEO Jeff Storey as part of a retention program that the company established in connection with its agreement to sell to CenturyLink.

Level 3’s board of directors approved the retention bonus, which will be paid after the merger closes and his tenure as CEO ends, and will be paid sooner if he is either terminated by Level 3 or CenturyLink without cause, or resigns “for good reason.”

The agreement also grants restricted stock awards to Storey and other executives, including (at today’s values): $3.35 million worth for Storey; $1.5 million worth for CFO Sunit Patel; $1.165 million worth for Andrew Crouch, regional president of EMEA and GAM; and $1 million worth for Laurinda Pang, regional president of North America and Asia Pacific.

CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3 is anticipated to close on Sept. 30. The former is buying the latter in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $34 billion, including debt. Nevada, Ohio and Utah have approved the purchase, while the Federal Communications Commission’s decision is pending.{ad}

The merger will create the second-largest domestic communications provider serving global enterprise customers.