First Data Deal Spins Off Gold

DENVER – First Data Corp. CEO Henry ‘Ric’ Duques is about to earn another big payday as he completes the sale of the company to private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Duques, who took home $96 million last year after coming out of retirement to sell the company, will take home more than $22 million from the $29 billion deal, according to a filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That includes $3.3 million for his 96,000 shares of restricted stock and $19 million for 1.8 million options he holds. But Duques won’t be the biggest winner. That will be Ed Labry, head of First Data’s commercial services, who stands to earn almost $80 million from the deal. Labry, who joined First Data after the company acquired his Concord EFS in 2003, will earn about $1.6 million for his 45,600 restricted shares, and a whopping $77.2 million for his 4.7 million options. That’s on top of more than $50 million Labry earned exercising First Data options over the past two years. The two First Data executives also earned millions last fall when First Data spun off its Western Union operations and awarded top executives Western Union options.