The discredited former boss of LV, who tried to sell the British mutual insurer to a US buyout firm, has been ousted from his latest venture after a similar plan to sell the company was rejected by shareholders.
Mark Hartigan left LV in 2021 with his reputation in tatters after members voted against his plan to sell the 181-year-old mutual to Bain Capital for £530m.
He was eventually forced to quit – albeit with a £500,000 ‘golden farewell’ – after a campaign by the Ny Breaking and The Mail on Sunday.
Ousted: Mark Hartigan left LV with his reputation in tatters in 2021 after members voted against his controversial plan to sell the 181-year-old mutual to Bain Capital
Hartigan, a former Army colonel, resurfaced earlier this year at Berlin-based insurance technology company Wefox, where he immediately put it up for sale.
Wefox was valued at £3.6 billion two years ago, but fintechs have since fallen out of favor with investors and its value has fallen.
Hartigan warned the company would go bankrupt and entered into talks with insurance broker Ardonagh, as revealed by The Mail on Sunday, who branded him ‘shameless’.
According to sources, he could collect a £20 million bonus if the sale goes through.
But the plans upset existing shareholders, and Hartigan was accused of using the same ‘scare tactics’ as at LV, in an attempt to goad them into a fire sale.
And in a dramatic twist, it was reported yesterday that Wefox’s board has rejected the Ardonagh deal, said to be worth £465 million, and that Hartigan will be replaced as CEO by the end of the year.
The vote to keep LV – formerly known as Liverpool Victoria – out of Bain’s clutches was a victory for reciprocity.
LV has since recovered to post a pre-tax profit of £107m in 2023, a big turnaround from the £145m loss the year before.
David Hyman, who replaced Hartigan as CEO, has pledged to maintain LV’s mutual status and protect it from asset strippers.
Wefox, which declined to comment, is backed by some of the world’s biggest technology investors, including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.
Ardonagh also declined to comment.
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