The millions Shikun & Binui Energy will pay to retain senior executives
The energy company seeks to grant a bonus of nearly 7 million shekels to its senior managers to ensure they remain until the merger with PowerGen is completed. Additionally, the vesting date for their options will be advanced, allowing them to exercise them as part of the deal.
Ahead of the completion of its sale to PowerGen, Shikun & Binui Energy intends to grant its senior managers a bonus of nearly 7 million shekels to ensure they remain with the company until the process is finalized. Furthermore, the company will request to advance the vesting date of the options granted to them so they can exercise them as part of the sale.
This move, which requires approval from the shareholders' meeting, involves granting managers a one-time bonus of up to 5 million shekels. This is in addition to smaller, non-material bonuses for other employees. The company states that the bonus is:
"intended to support the managerial and organizational stability of the company, to retain office holders, to strengthen their incentives to accompany the deal until its completion, and to enable an orderly, continuous, and efficient transfer of control in the company."
Alongside these bonuses, the company will request a similar grant for Yuval Skornik, who has served as CEO for the past two years. The compensation committee and the board of directors have also approved an increase in Skornik's bonus ceiling to 10.5 salaries, up from 9. These bonuses, combined with the accelerated vesting of his options, will bring his annual salary cost to approximately 4.8 million shekels.
The bonuses come against the backdrop of the massive deal to acquire Shikun & Binui Energy's operations by the Generation fund for 4.45 billion shekels, signed late last month. The deal, which surpassed a competing offer from the Keystone infrastructure fund, will be brought before the shareholders' meeting for approval.
In the meeting invitation, the company notes that the deal with PowerGen "best fulfills the company's interests and has the potential to maximize the economic value of the company for all its shareholders." The merger consideration reflects a premium of nearly 13% relative to the average share price on the stock exchange in the month prior to the merger's approval.
