A new SEC filing has revealed that Midway Chairman Kenneth Cron could be inline for a massive pay package increase from $48,000 to $645,000, as the major Chicago-headquartered publisher and developer gears up for a series of key next-gen game releases.
The Midway board has already unanimously voted to increase Cron’s pay from $48,000 per year to $300,000, according to the filing, in addition to a $45,000 salary for serving as a director of the company. The filing also indicates that Cron is now eligible for an annual bonus of $300,000 based on his and the company’s performance.
A possible $600,000+ pay package is rare for a non-executive chairman, and
a Chicago Tribune report on the matter points out the fact that Cron, the former head of Vivendi Universal Games, owns no personal stock in the company - also seen as unusual and a possible cause of concern amongst shareholders.
Although the pay rise undoubtedly implies a greater role for Cron in the day-to-day running of the company, there seems to be no suggestion that he will take over a major executive role, with respected CEO David Zucker being credited with improving the company’s portfolio and development practices.
Midway continues to make a loss though, totaling $119.2 million in the last four quarters, with the company expected to stay in the red in its next imminent quarterly report.
Many companies have reported losses during the transition between console generations, though, and Cron’s real worth will be judged once next generation game sales for Midway titles such as
Stranglehold begin in earnest this Christmas.
