SiliconBeat

Calpine, the power generator that declared bankruptcy about three years ago from which it re-emerged this past January, released details of the compensation for the new chief legal officer it hired last August, which evidently came a day before it previous general counsel’s employment was terminated, according to an Aug. 11 employment agreement the company filed along with its quarterly financial filing today.

Thaddeus Miller (pictured), who agreed to become an executive vice president and its chief legal officer that day, is getting a $700,000 salary and will receive a pro-rated 2008 bonus targeted at a minimum of 90 percent of his salary, whether or not established performance targets for the period are met. We figure that’s worth at least $225,000. He also got a $150,000 signing bonus.

Miller is being offered a huge stock option grant totaling 1,678,000 shares that will be doled out in four tranches based on Calpine’s stock price: the first tranche of 345,000 shares has an exercise price of $16.60; with the second tranche of 394,000 shares being priced at $19.19; the third tranche of 443,000 shares at $21.59; and the fourth tranche of 496,000 shares having an exercise price of $23.99.

For a company that a year ago was mired in bankruptcy court, it has extended some very generous compensation to some executives. We’ve previously posted about the former chief executive’s $29.6 million “success fee”, and the $220,000 monthly fee charged by the temp employee working as its chief operating officer.

The company hired a new permanent COO in September, John Hill, who received a $1 million signing bonus along with an option grant valued at $7.5 million. The company will also give the guy 20 vacation days a year in 2009, and threw in 10 days for him to use during the remaining days of 2008.

Calpine’s shares have been being scooped up recently by some private equity firms, including New York City’s Harbinger Partners, which has now amassed 105.9 million shares of Calpine, or nearly 25 percent of its shares outstanding; and SPO Advisory, a Mill Valley entity that now controls 92.6 million shares, or 21.6 percent.

Shares of the post-bankruptcy Calpine first started trading in January at $16.50. They closed today at a new low of $8.59.