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NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to pay its new global head of sales and trading, hired last month from rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a 2008 bonus of $39.4 million.

Thomas Montag, formerly co-head of global securities trading at Goldman, will also make an annual salary of $600,000, Merrill said in a regulatory filing.

Montag, hired as part of Merrill Chief Executive John Thain's bid to attract new talent to turn around the world's largest brokerage, will receive the bonus in January 2009 after working less than half a year at Merrill.

He won't join the firm until early August.

Montag, 51, retired from Goldman Sachs in December after working at the firm for 22 years.

He will also receive unspecified compensation for his forfeiture of equity awards from Goldman, a third of which will be paid in cash, according to the filing. The rest will be in stock options and restricted stock. (Reporting by Christian Plumb; Editing by Braden Reddall)