Dutch shareholders lobby group VEB has criticised the $428m bonus that NXP chief executive Rick Clemmer may be able to cash in when the company is taken over by Qualcomm.

Last week it emerged that Qualcomm is taking over Dutch chip maker NXP Semiconductors for €43bn, in what is one of the biggest takeovers ever involving a Dutch firm.

The Financieele Dagblad calculates that Clemmer’s share and options deal will entitle him to up to €428m when the takeover is completed, making him the best paid head of a Dutch company.

‘This sort of reward is out of all proportion, director Paul Koster told the Financieele Dagblad. ”It is an extremely large amount given the contribution of a single person.’

Large investors, united in Eumedion, are equally unenthusiastic, the FD said.

Both the VEB and Eumedion agree that Clemmer’s deal is legitimate and properly regulated. ‘Nevertheless, our message to shareholders is that a reward should always be in relation to what someone has contributed to the strategy and value add in a company,’ Koster said.

Because NXP is listed on the Nasdaq, not in Amsterdam, the company is not subject to Dutch rules on bonuses which would have required Clemmer to put some of the profit he made on shares and options back into the company.