Labour and Socialist Party MPs have called for measures to stop company bosses benefiting personally if their companies are taken over. The call follows the news that Numico boss Jan Bennick is set to walk off with over €80m if the company’s take-over by Danone goes through.

The Financieele Dagblad (FD) calculates the package at €86.6m – €80m from Bennick’s share and options package, plus a €6.6m golden handshake.
‘It is an astronomical amount,’ Labour MP Paul Tang told the FD. ‘A manager must serve the company’s interests and not his own.’ He said senior staff’s pay packages should be frozen if a takeover is on the horizon.
Christian Democrat MP Pieter Omtzigt also said the deal was ‘extremely royal’ but pointed out that it has been approved by the company’s shareholders and the supervisory board.
The shareholders lobby group VEB puts the value of Bennick’s pay-off at €87.4m. It is an ‘absurd amount’, VEB director Peter Paul de Vries told ANP on Tuesday.
Bennick himself has refused to confirm the figures. ‘To tell you the truth, I have not worked it out for myself,’ he told the FD. ‘The only thing I can tell you is that I did not take this job five years ago for the money but for the adventure.’
Danone has offered €55 a share for Numico, which closed 20% up at €53.70 on Tuesday.