Maybe the shareholders could remind them THIS THURSDAY, May 27th at the annual meeting.
In what might perhaps be the most ironically named company in the Russell 1000 (remember your Latin, folks), Fidelity National Information Services appears to think that in order to get someone to stay a couple of months you need to pay them a retention bonus.
OK, a couple of months, I’m exaggerating. It was four months and seven months.
But really, $10 million dollars in cash to get the former CEO Lee Kennedy to stick around from the time of the merger (October 2009) between Fidelity and Metavante to his resignation in February 2010? And that doesn’t even count the $11 million or so realized in accelerated equity.
Wait, I’ve got an idea. Don’t accelerate the equity and make its vesting contingent on him staying on until February. Doh, why didn’t I think of that? $10 million in cash down the drain.
So, that’s the four month one, now for the seven month one.
Then the company paid former Metavante CEO and new CEO of the combined company Frank Martire $3.5 million contingent on relocating and remaining with the company for seven months after the merger. Seven months? That’s barely time to move into the office, never mind start running the company.
And how about “contingent on the merger actually being a good thing for shareholders?”
What? Value for money? Don’t be so idealistic.
Now, shareholders already don’t like the board, with nearly 40 percent withhold votes for one director last year. Now – well, tomorrow – is the time to say what you really don’t like. And just in case you didn’t know, the two members – that’s right, two – of the compensation committee are:
- David Hunt
- James Neary
Mr. Neary’s the one who works for Warburg Pincus which owns almost 11 percent of the company, so you’d think he should know better.
Seriously, it’s all there in Fidelity's corporate governance report.
And remember: Fidelity, noun, from the Latin fidelitas, faithful.
Paul Hodgson - Senior Research Associate
