Change-in-Control Trigger (Single vs. Double)

A change-in-control trigger describes what must happen for an executive’s severance benefits or accelerated equity vesting to activate around a merger, acquisition, or other change-in-control event.

A single trigger pays out on the change in control itself, with no termination required — the deal closing is enough. A double trigger requires two things: the change in control, and a qualifying termination (typically an involuntary termination without cause, or a resignation for good reason) within a defined window afterward. Double-trigger structures have become the governance-favored standard; a single trigger is now the less common design and draws more scrutiny from proxy advisers, because it can pay an executive fully even if their job and role continue unchanged after the deal.

The same single-versus-double distinction applies separately to cash severance and to equity acceleration — a company can double-trigger one and single-trigger the other, so the two need to be read as separate disclosures rather than assumed to match.

Leidos structures its change-in-control severance as a double trigger: a 1.5x payout to its CHRO requires both a change in control and a qualifying termination, not the change in control alone.