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Premier Foods Says CEO Darby Will Get At Least £1M Exit Deal

By Donna Ahern
Premier Foods Says CEO Darby Will Get At Least £1M Exit Deal

Oxo-cube maker Premier Foods said its former chief executive will get at least £1 million ($1.3 million) in an exit deal after he stepped down following a shareholder revolt.

Gavin Darby, who led the Mr Kipling cake company from 2013 to the end of January this year, drew investor flak for failing to revive the business after rebuffing a takeover approach from U.S. food maker McCormick & Co Inc.

The company's shares have lost nearly a third of their value since McCormick abandoned its approach in April 2016.

Almost 41% of Premier shareholders in July backed an attempt led by activist hedge fund Oasis Management to oust Darby.

Stepped Down

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In November, Darby agreed to step down, but said it had anything to do with the shareholder revolt.

Darby will be paid £863,557 for his 12 months' notice period, covering his salary, contractual benefits and pension supplement, the company said. Darby will also be given £30,000 for advisory services and legal fees.

In addition, he will get 638,291 shares, worth about £238,401, based on Thursday's close of 37.35 pence.

The company said it was meeting its legal obligations under the terms of Gavin's contract, but declined to comment further.

Oasis Management was not immediately available for a comment.

News by Reuters, edited by Checkout, edited by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.

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