Three executives of the Icelandic commercial enterprise Hagar sold their shares in the company for a combined price of approximately ISK 1 billion (USD 8.3 million, EUR 6.3 million) in 2008 and 2009 shortly before it was taken over by Arion Bank.
Archive photo by Páll Stefánsson.
According to Fréttablaðið, the buyer of the 3.74 percent share was the company itself, as stated in Hagar’s fiscal quarter and annual accounts.
The executives in question were Finnur Árnason, Hagar’s current CEO, Guðmundur Marteinsson, managing director of Bónus, and Jóhanna Waagfjörð, who was financial director of Hagar at the time, as the newspaper reports.
The sale was finalized in October 2009 and later that same month Arion Bank took over 95.7 percent of shares in the company due to the debt situation of its owners.
Fréttablaðið pointed out that there was an agreement between Hagar and the three executives on the acquisition of their shares at hand before the company went into the bank’s ownership.
In February 2010 an agreement was made with Jóhannes Jónsson, the chairman of Hagar at the time, and the company’s main executives on the priority right to acquire 15 percent of shares in Hagar to guarantee their continued services.
In August the same year an agreement was made with Jóhannes on that he would leave the company.
An agreement remained that five key executives of Hagar could acquire five percent of shares in the company with a discount and that Arion Bank would cover the cost of taxes because of the acquisition.
In relation with the decision of selling 20-30 percent in Hagar through the Icelandic Stock Exchange in November 2011 a new agreement was made between Eiginbjarg, Arion Bank’s subsidiary, and the five key executives.
The agreement stated that Finnur and Guðmundur would obtain a 0.4 percent share each and Gunnar Ingi Sigurðsson, managing director of Hagkaup, Kjartan Már Friðriksson, managing director of Bananar, and Lárus Óskarsson, managing director of Aðföng, a 0.2 percent share each in the company from Arion Bank without payment at the exchange rate of ten.
The bank is planning to sell up to 30 percent of shares in Hagar in a tender offer next month at the exchange rate of 11-13.5.
In light of this, the estimated combined value of the shares obtained by the executives is now up from ISK 170 million (USD 1.4 million, EUR 1.1 million) to ISK 190-230 million (USD 1.6-1.9 million, EUR 1.2-1.4 million). They also received a payment of ISK 170 million to cover taxes.
These men are now obligated to continue working for Hagar until July 31, 2012. Jóhanna resigned as the financial director of Hagar in March 2010.
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ESA
