Business

Shack of cash

If RadioShack becomes the target of a buyout, its penny-pinching CEO will pocket a big payout.

As reported exclusively last week by The Post, the Texas-based electronics chain is exploring strategic alternatives including a possible sale of the company.

Wall Street sources estimate the retailer — which could spur a bidding war among private-equity firms and, possibly, big-box electronics giant Best Buy — could fetch between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.

If a deal were done in the middle of that range, RadioShack CEO Julian Day would walk away with $93 million, and possibly more. That’s based on several buckets of stock options granted to him by the company’s board during the past four years, according to securities filings.

Day — whose ruthless demands for financial discipline have boosted profits at the expense of some company jobs — now appears to be angling for an outright sale of RadioShack so he can “take the money and run,” according to one source close to the situation.

“It would clearly not send a good signal to the market” if Day sold the company’s shares while staying on as CEO, according to one source. Meanwhile, provisions in Day’s contract, which ends this summer, would allow him to exercise all his stock options in the event of a sale.

“It’s not like the only way [Day] can cash out is by selling the company and leaving,” said an investor familiar with RadioShack who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “But that would be the cleanest way to sell a huge slug of equity — the most elegant and efficient way.”

The smooth-talking Brit known for his vise-like grip on RadioShack’s operations and finances cuts an elegant figure at the retailer’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, with a penchant for $5,000 suits.

Nevertheless, he hasn’t taken up permanent residence in Texas, with his family holed up in Montana since he took the helm at RadioShack in 2006.

“They’ve tried to get [Day] involved in the local community, but it isn’t happening,” according to one source.

Day got off to an awkward start at RadioShack when just weeks after his arrival, he fired 400 workers at the company’s headquarters with an unnerving, impersonal e-mail.

“The work-force reduction notification is currently in progress,” the e-mail began. “Unfortunately, your position is one that has been eliminated.”

Day’s potential payout, while huge, pales in comparison to the $210 million severance package given by Home Depot to former CEO Bob Nardelli, which drew lawsuits from angry shareholders.

Day, like Nardelli, is “a turnaround guy who knows how to slash costs,” according to one source close to the company. Prior to his stint at RadioShack, Day had been hired by hedge-fund tycoon Eddie Lampert to guide Kmart out of bankruptcy as its CEO.

Despite Day’s success, “at this point, RadioShack needs somebody who is more of a merchant to grow the business,” the source said.

james.covert@nypost.com