Insurance chief secures hefty fees if Omega bid turns sour
MARK Byrne, the former reinsurance executive who has launched a bid for 25 per cent of the Lloyd’s of London insurer Omega, will be entitled to a £2m payment if the company terminates his employment within 12 months of any change of control.
The entrepreneur will be on a rolling contract as executive chairman of Omega, which will have a 24 months’ notice period with a bonus equal to 200 per cent of his £400,000 annual salary.
When Byrne, who would be investing £50m in Omega, left the reinsurance group Flagstone in December he went with a $2.2m pay-off and the firm paid $91.9m to buy out his shares.
Byrne’s offer to buy 25 per cent of Omega at a maximum price of 83p a share faces competition from a possible full all-cash offer, again at 83p, from the insurance group Canopius.
Much hangs on the decisions of Neil Woodford of Invesco, whose funds hold 29.9 per cent of Omega. Canopius is expected to discuss the matter with Woodford over the next few days.