The decision to oust Merrill Chief Executive Stan O'Neal could cost the company millions. A regulatory filing shows that a combination of his company holdings, retirement benefits and a severance package could cost upwards of $200 million. Problematically, the compensation committee is filled with O'Neal allies, including Chubb CEO John Finnegan, who is a former colleague from their days at GM and Alberto Cribiore who has been a strong supporter of O'Neal. So, while the company does not have a non-takeover severance package in place by default the compensation committee will likely grant one. The executives dismissal comes after a record $8.4 billion quarterly writedown that came as the result of risky subprime lending and CDO trading.