(Bloomberg) — Aviva Plc, in the middle of buying Friends Life Group Ltd., increased Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilson's bonus 15 percent to 1.3 million pounds ($1.9 million) in 2014 and sweetened his long-term incentives.
Wilson was awarded an immediate cash bonus of about 424,000 pounds, with the balance to be paid in shares in three years, Aviva said Monday. The London-based insurer also increased his long-term incentive plan to a maximum 350 percent of his base salary from 300 percent last year, meaning that the New Zealander could earn as much as 3.4 million pounds in stock.
Wilson, 48, agreed to buy Friends Life for about 5.6 billion pounds last year to boost cash flow and pay down debt, accelerating the CEO's turnaround plans after less than two years in the job. If approved this month by shareholders, the takeover will be the largest the U.K. insurance industry has seen in 15 years.
