RICHMOND (AP) -- Circuit City Stores Inc.'s departing chief executive is receiving at least $1.8 million in a severance deal after resigning from his post at the consumer electronics retailer earlier this week, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Philip J. Schoonover, who agreed to step down Monday as chief executive, chairman and president of the Richmond-based company, will receive his annual base salary and the target bonus for the current fiscal year, each worth $900,000, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 48-year-old also will receive health and welfare benefit plan participation for two years, up to $50,000 in outplacement services and the acceleration of the vesting of his stock options and restricted stock awards that would have vested prior to Oct. 4, 2009.

His compensation was based on an employment agreement made when Schoonover joined the company in 2004 from rival Best Buy Co., where he was executive vice president of customer segments.

The company enforced the "involuntary termination without cause" or "termination for good reason" clauses of the agreement, according to the filing.

Circuit City has seen only one profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2007, but has defended its multiyear turnaround. In May, the company announced it hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore strategic options, but has never given an official timetable for any action. Its shares sank to their lowest level in more than 22 years on Thursday, falling as low as $1.40 before closing at $1.44, down 10 cents, or 6.5 percent.

Board member James A. Marcum will now serve as the chain's interim president and chief executive. Former tobacco executive Allen B. King was named as the new chairman.

Marcum, 49, was one of three directors elected to Circuit City's board as part of a deal to quell a proxy fight with Mark J. Wattles, whose investment firm holds a 6.5 percent stake in the company. Wattles had sent a letter to the company's board in April, calling turnaround efforts under Schoonover "disastrous" and asking for his ouster.

Last month, Marcum, who was involved in turnaround efforts at movie-rental chain Hollywood Entertainment Corp. and retailer Ultimate Electronics Inc., was appointed Circuit City's vice chairman.

Schoonover received compensation in fiscal 2008 valued by the company at about $2.1 million, including base pay of $900,000 and stock and stock options worth about $994,000 when granted.

The number was far less than the $17.1 million he earned in the prior year mainly due to stock and stock options he received in fiscal 2007 valued at $16 million for his promotion to CEO in March 2006.

The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)