PARIS — Telesat and its owner, BCE Inc., have agreed to pay incoming Telesat Chief Executive Daniel S. Goldberg a one-time cash signing bonus of $4.2 million, with the stipulation that he invest the after-tax proceeds of about $2.5 million in Class B Telesat shares to be sold during Telesat’s coming initial stock offering (IPO), according to Telesat’s Sept. 18 stock-registration statement.
Goldberg will receive a base salary of 670,000 Canadian dollars ($599 ,000) per year, with an annual bonus of 100-200 percent of salary depending on Telesat’s performance, according to the registration. He will have an annual allowance of nearly $36,000 to cover the cost of benefits including automobile expenses, tax-preparation fees, financial planning and health-club memberships. Goldberg has been guaranteed a bonus of 100 percent of his salary for 2006.
Goldberg, who previously was chief executive of SES New Skies, a satellite-fleet operator owned by SES Global of Luxembourg, also has been guaranteed $1.34 million in BCE restricted shares, which will be fully vested in December 2007 with the shares and vesting schedule both subject to Telesat’s performance.
Goldberg gets BCE common-stock options of nearly $2.7 million, to be purchased at fair market value. The six-year stock-option grant vests in equal amounts on the first and second anniversaries of Goldberg’s Sept. 18 employment contract.
Goldberg has been guaranteed a “success payment” equivalent to one-half of 1 percent of Telesat’s enterprise value once the company has successfully completed its IPO.
Larry J. Boisvert, Telesat’s outgoing chief executive, will get his 2006 base salary of about $371,000 until the IPO is completed or the year ends. He also gets a lump-sum termination payment of $1.85 million, an annual incentive award of $481,000 and a $198,000 payment for outstanding vacation days. Boivert will receive an award of about $1.8 million following the IPO, with the option of converting that amount into Telesat shares sold during the IPO.
Boisvert, who will be a senior advisor to BCE, will receive a $2 million payment if unspecified transactions involving Mobile Satelilte Ventures (MSV) and TerreStar Networks occur. BCE is a minority shareholder in MSV, which is an owner of TerreStar. MSV and TerreStar are building separate mobile satellite services systems in North America using L- and S-band frequencies, respectively.
