April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Jeffrey Mayer, the co-head of Bear Stearns Cos. fixed-income unit, reached a verbal agreement to join JPMorgan Chase & Co. for about $27 million in cash and restricted stock.

JPMorgan, the third-largest U.S. bank, also reached an oral agreement to employ former Bear Stearns Chairman Alan ``Ace'' Greenberg as vice chairman of Bear Stearns's retail business, according to a filing by New York-based JPMorgan today.

As the two securities firms combine, JPMorgan is trying to keep the top executives and client relationships of the smaller company. The fate of Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz wasn't disclosed in the filing today. He is eligible for about $1.3 million in JPMorgan stock, the filing said.

Greenberg would be entitled to a payout equal to 40 percent of the commission revenue he generates, according to the filing. Last week, the 80-year-old trader said he would stay with the firm he ran in the 1980s after the merger.

``I'm very excited,'' Greenberg said in an interview today. He'll keep his clients, office and continue to work with many of his colleagues from Bear Stearns and JPMorgan, he said.

Bear Stearns was forced to sell itself to JPMorgan last month after a run by clients and lenders put the New York-based company on the verge of bankruptcy. JPMorgan will pay about $10 a share for the firm in a deal that includes a Federal Reserve guarantee of $29 billion of Bear Stearns's assets.

Talks Continue

Mayer will become vice chairman of the investment bank. JPMorgan is still in talks with Bear Stearns Controller Jeffrey Farber, Chief Financial Officer Samuel Molinaro and General Counsel Michael Solender, about future employment, the filing said.

If Farber and Solender accept positions with JPMorgan, they will receive restricted stock on the day after the merger is complete equal to their 2007 bonuses of $2.25 million and $2.75 million respectively, the filing said. The executives will also be eligible for a 2008 bonus of stock and cash.

Should Farber and Solender be fired after the merger, they will get a week's salary for every week worked during the transition, a 2008 bonus equal to their 2007 bonus pro-rated for the amount of time worked and severance of about $154,000 and $125,000 respectively. The retention and severance packages are the same as that ``generally available to all employees of Bear Stearns,'' the filing said.

James ``Jimmy'' Cayne, 74, who retired from Bear Stearns in January, will continue to have his stock awards vest according to the original schedule, the filing said. Cayne sold 5.66 million shares for $61 million last month. The other directors' awards are fully vested.

JPMorgan hasn't said how many of Bear Stearns's more than 14,000 global employees it will keep. Joseph Evangelisti, a spokesman at JPMorgan, declined to comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Miles Weiss in Washington at mweiss@bloomberg.net; Elizabeth Hester in New York at ehester@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 24, 2008 11:08 EDT