Steve Madden, Aon, Google top footnoted’s ‘most egregious’ SEC filings in January
The three most egregious corporate disclosures during the month of January, as uncovered by the Footnoted team.
Footnoted, a site that site takes a closer look at the things that companies try to bury in their routine SEC filings, specializes in surfacing hidden opportunities and early signs of potential problems.
January’s most egregious goes to (these are direct quotes from a footnoted.com release):
Jan. 11, 2012: Steve Madden Milks his Company for Everything and Then Some More: Steve Madden received a new employment agreement at the beginning of this year that assures him a base salary of more than $5.41 million. The employment agreement runs through Dec. 31, 2023, and it also promises that he will get a raise of approximately $2 million each year. He’s also going to get an “Annual Cash Bonus” and a “New Business Bonus,” plus a grant for restricted shares of stock worth $40 million. But because one $40 million stock grant might not be enough for a guy, there’s also a section cal led an “Additional Restricted Shares Amendment” which gives Madden even more restricted shares of stock worth—you guessed it—another $40 million. Finally, the board agreed to forgive the $3 million loan that Madden borrowed from the company back in 2007.
Jan. 17, 2012: Aon Gives London a Whole New Meaning: Aon Corp., a big insurance brokerage that had been headquartered in Chicago, announced that it planned to move its headquarters to London. And it’s giving CEO Greg Case—just one of several members of the executive ranks the company will pay to relocate—an extra $561,000 a year over and above moving expenses and one-time relocation costs. Showing a curious bit of restraint, though, Aon declared that Case must pay his own telephone and internet bills. London is a very expensive city, to be sure, but we bet that he can get by on what works out to $1,537 a day.
Jan. 13, 2012: Google Gives New Director $1 Million Worth of Stock: In mid-January, Google appointed Diane Greene to its board and a post on its Audit Committee. Greene founded VMWare (VMW) and took it public in 2007; she also sits on the board of Intuit (INTU). Google doubled the initial equity award that it’s paying to Greene, compared to what it paid the last time it appointed non-employee directors (which, admittedly, has been a while—back in 2005). Greene is getting $1 million worth of Google Stock Units (GSUs), as well as the compensation that directors get every year: a $75,000 cash retainer and another $350,000 worth of GSUs.
