A six-figure bonus for senior Tourism Holdings executives for a successful takeover is just part of normal business, says chief executive Trevor Hall.
Hall, chief financial officer Ian Lewington and leisure division chief operating officer Grant Webster will share in a bonus of between $600,000 and $800,000 should
the takeover bid by ASX-listed MFS Living andLeisure become unconditional.
MFS Living made a non-binding indicative offer in March to buy Tourism Holdings' Leisure Group division for $140 million - before changing its plan during due diligence for a full takeover.
"It's like any sales job," Hall said "To achieve a price of $140 million, of course most executives in most organisations would have some sort of bonuses attached."
The strategy process had involved numerous 100-hour working weeks, Hall said.
"It's pretty much been all-consuming since December ... and then doing your normal day."
Initially Tourism Holdings had been talking to MFS Living about selling some assets, before MFS Living decided to launch the full takeover instead.
Shareholders Association chairman Bruce Sheppard said bonuses for asset or company sales were less common for public companies whose senior executives generally held options, equity plans or shares.
"In effect, given that we've had the price paid to us, in essence it is the purchaser that's paying it," Sheppard said.
"And this would have been a specific disclosure as part of due diligence so they [MFS Living] would have been aware of the incentive arrangements, I would have thought."
Queensland-based MFS Living is offering $2.80 a share for all of Tourism Holdings, conditional on 90 per cent acceptance.
"An understanding exists to the effect that certain senior executives of Tourism Holdings will receive bonuses to compensate them for work done in respect of the offer and in respect of an earlier proposal to sell a division of Tourism Holdings," Tourism Holdings' target company statement said.
"If the offer lapses, lesser bonuses are likely to be paid."
Redundancy compensation - equivalent to four weeks' base pay - would also be paid to Hall should anyone acquire 90 per cent of the stock and he proved unable to reach agreement on employment terms with Tourism Holdings.
