Scotts Miracle-Gro Co: EVP departs, 24 months severance

What happened The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company reported on Aug 29, 2026 that Christopher J. Hagedorn, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, would depart the company on Sep 30, 2026. On Oct 13, 2026 The Scotts Company LLC entered into a Separation Agreement and Release of All Claims with Mr. Hagedorn addressing the payments and benefits to which he is entitled in connection with his departure.

Key details

• Severance: Scotts LLC will pay severance equal to 24 months of Mr. Hagedorn’s regular monthly base pay, payable in accordance with Scotts LLC’s standard payroll procedures.
• Other benefits: outplacement services for the earlier of 12 months or until he accepts new employment; a benefits offset payment for 24 months equal to the excess of the COBRA premium charged to terminated employees over the premium he paid as an active employee.
• Bonus: a Bonus Amount equal to 2.0 times Mr. Hagedorn’s target bonus opportunity as of the Termination Date, payable 50% on the first anniversary of the Termination Date and 50% on the second anniversary, subject to continued compliance with post-employment obligations and nonrevoke of the Separation Agreement.
• 2026 incentive: eligible for an executive incentive payout for the fiscal year ended Sep 30, 2026, payable in Nov 2026 based on target through the Termination Date, funded plan performance and a discretionary personal performance factor.
• Equity awards: 16,239 performance units (granted Feb 16, 2024) and related dividend equivalents will vest and settle on Feb 16, 2027 subject to performance conditions; 57,033 non-qualified stock options (granted Nov 16, 2023) vested in full on the Termination Date and will expire 180 days after the Termination Date; unvested options (21,009 granted Nov 8, 2024; 5,375 granted Jan 31, 2025; 29,649 granted Jan 30, 2026) and unvested performance units (8,808 granted Jan 31, 2025; 14,599 granted Jan 30, 2026) forfeited on the Termination Date in accordance with the applicable award agreements.
• Additional terms: payments subject to applicable withholdings and deductions; he remains entitled to any vested benefits under company plans; the Separation Agreement and a prior confidentiality, noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreement contain restrictive covenants.

Why it may matter This Form 8-K reports an Item 5.02 departure of certain officers and describes the separation agreement, severance and benefit payments, incentive payout treatment and the treatment of equity awards. The filing does not show why the insider traded or why the company acted.