Infogroup amends CEO contract amid sale speculation

Database giant Infogroup amended company CEO Bill Fairfield's employment agreement on December 24, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated December 30. Under the new terms, Fairfield's agreement will renew on a quarterly basis.

It could be another signal that the company is drawing closer to a sale, but Infogroup declined to comment. One industry expert said that while this “does not make the sale any more imminent than it was last quarter,” it does make sense that a company in line for sale would want to “structure executive contracts so as not to burden a new buyer with a large potential expense if they wanted to make a change or just put an exec back on the board.”

The data company retained Evercore Partners in December 2008 to help evaluate a possible sale. D&B and Carlyle have been rumored as potential buyers. At least 33 potential bidders have expressed interest in the firm to its financial advisor, according to reports.