Fisher backs exec payouts

The $65 million payout to top outgoing executives of Fisher Scientific International as a result of the Hampton company’s merger with Thermo Electron is worth it, the Hampton-based company says.

In a response to an Aug. 29 story in NHBR Daily, the company issued a statement saying that its executive compensation is set by an independent committee of the board “to ensure that it attracts and retains the individuals needed to drive the Company’s success.”

“In this regard, Fisher Scientific has achieved its goals,” the statement added.

According to the company:

• Since its initial public offering in 1991, the leadership team has created over $6 billion in shareholder value, with a 65 percent proprietary product position in the scientific and health-care product industry and integrating some 50 acquisitions creating $3.5 billion in sales.
• Shareholder value has increased at a compounded annual rate of 25 percent, placing the company in the top 5 percent of S&P 500 companies.
• Enterprise value has grown from $200 million to 11.7 billion; annual revenues from $758 million to $5.6 billion and earnings went up from 28 cents to $3.58 a share.

Thermo Electron, based in Waltham, Mass., will be acquiring Fisher, even though the Hampton company is twice the size. But the Fisher payout is three times as large as the $19 million Thermo executives will receive, because Thermo is the surviving company. – BOB SANDERS