Dixon set for $20m Spotless IPO payday

Spotless chief Bruce Dixon is set for a $20 million-plus windfall from the float of the $1.85 billion catering services firm in what is expected to be one of the largest fee and profit bonanzas for private equity and executives.

The highly regarded chief executive has been credited for stripping costs out of the business to almost double earnings since the $1.3bn acquisition made by Pacific Equity Partners in 2012.

Mr Dixon will sell 1.8 million of the 14.9 million shares he owns into the offering, leaving him with an interest worth less than 2 per cent.

Should the company be priced at the midpoint of the $1.60-$1.85 a share range, he will make a profit of just over $20m, stripping out his initial $5m investment in the company.

Mr Dixon, who ran hospital operator Healthscope before taking the reins of Spotless, declined to comment on the proceeds. But they will come on top of his $1.1m salary, $1.1m in long-term incentives and a bonus worth up to 90 per cent of his salary collected after the 2015 financial year.

PEP would reap $24.6m in fees from the initial public offering if it were priced at the midpoint of the range.

The float, expected to raise about $1bn, is the largest IPO this year and is set for May 23.

Retail investors have been ­allocated 20 per cent of the IPO book, for which the Australian leg of the roadshow has been under way this week.

Mr Dixon and other members of the Spotless management were to fly to the US yesterday to start the international leg of the roadshow after holding meetings in Melbourne and Sydney on Monday and Tuesday with fund managers, who have continued to question whether strong earnings growth can be sustained.

The international roadshow through the US, London and Asia will conclude before the bookbuild, which concludes a day before the listing.