£2.2m bonus for BSkyB boss

BSkyB boss Jeremy Darroch has been handed a special shares bonus, potentially worth a seven-figure sum, for staying at the helm during News Corporation's aborted takeover bid.

As a reward for leading the company throughout Rupert Murdoch's bid, the chief executive will receive 300,000 shares in July 2013 if the company meets targets over the next two years. The shares are currently worth about £2.2 million.

An annual report released by the company today also revealed that Mr Darroch's salary last year was £888,000 and he received a £1.8 million cash bonus.

He will also be given a further 600,000 shares in two years' time if the company hits its targets under a long-term incentive plan.

Mr Darroch's basic pay has gone up 5.3 per cent to £935,000 in the current year.

News Corporation, which also owns the Sun and the Times newspapers in the UK, was forced to drop its bid to buy the 61 per cent of the company it did not already own following the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.

Sky recently reported a 32 per cent rise in profits to £327 million in the three months to the end of September after it benefited from increasing sales of telephone and broadband packages.

It also received a £39 million "break fee" from News Corporation after its bid fell through.

PA