INVESTMENT GROUP One51 and dissident shareholder Gerry Killen held talks in late June about the executive rejoining the business on a remuneration package worth potentially more than €300,000 a year.
In a proposal put to One51 on June 22nd, following earlier talks with the company, Mr Killen sought a seat on the board of the Philip Lynch-led investment group and an executive position as director of strategic development, The Irish Times has learned.
Mr Killen, who ran One51’s WEEE electrical goods recycling arm until he was made redundant in March 2008, also outlined his proposed remuneration package. This comprised a salary of €240,000, a performance bonus of about 20 per cent, a car, a pension contribution and share options.
Mr Killen also wanted a clause inserted in his contract that would have given him two years’ remuneration if the contract was cancelled by the company within the first 12 months of his appointment.
These proposals followed talks between Mr Killen and One51 about resolving the impasse that exists between the two sides.
It is understood that One51 was not prepared to give Mr Killen a board seat and the businessman has since pressed ahead with a campaign for change at the group.
Mr Killen has invested €500,000 in One51 and is seeking a change in strategy to reverse a loss of value in many of the investments One51 has made. Mr Killen was managing director of Techrec, a WEEE electrical goods recycling business, acquired by One51. He oversaw its expansion into international markets, including Canada, Switzerland and Italy.
One51 has since exited most of these businesses at a loss of about €27 million, according to a statement issued yesterday. “These acquisitions came at a considerable cost to One51,” the company added.
“It is regrettable that Mr Killen is now engaged in a campaign against One51 because the company would not reinstate him to a senior position.”
In a statement, a spokesman for the shareholder group fronted by Mr Killen rejected One51’s “version of events” and said that the “motivation for the campaign was to effect strategic change at One 51 which would re-create shareholder value and deliver meaningful liquidity”.
Mr Killen was made redundant in March 2008 and was paid about €370,000 on leaving the business. Most of this money relates to the purchase of shares Mr Killen owned in the company.
In recent weeks, Mr Killen has sought support from other shareholders in One51 to secure “meaningful change” in the way the investment group is run. The Campaign for Change at One51 is seeking to have three directors appointed to One51’s board at its annual meeting on July 28th.
One51, meanwhile, is expected to release strong results for the first half of this year, which will show an uplift in operating profit of 10-15 per cent.
In a newspaper advertisement last weekend, the shareholders said they wanted to “effect meaningful strategic and governance change to re-create shareholder value and real liquidity” in One51’s shares, which trade on a grey market.
One51 has investments in a number of public companies, including ferry operator Irish Continental Group, financial services group IFG and NTR, the diversified holding company. Some of these investments having fallen sharply in value.
Mr Killen claims to have support from about 20 per cent of One51’s shareholders but this figure is disputed by the company.
