November 18, 2009 6:12 PM
- Text
Valassis CEO Reaps $7.4M Stock Payday, Dwarfing Previous Compensation
(MoneyWatch) 
Revenues at Valassis (VCI), the supermarket coupon giant, may have tumbled nearly 4 percent in the last quarter, but CEO Al Schultz is cashing in: He just exercized or sold about $7.4 million in stock and options. Some of those options were priced as low as $1.32. Schultz cashed out tens of thousands of equities at around $16 and $17 a share.
Many of the sales were automatic, meaning that they were probably a scheduled part of his compensation. Valassis' stock spent much of the year in the gutter. NASDAQ threatened to de-list the company in February. Valassis also laid off at least 160 staff in a cost-cutting drive.
In April, VCI rose along with the general market (see chart below).
Then, in July, the company won a $300 million verdict in Michigan state court that in theory will break up the monopoly on supermarket advertising controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News America Marketing Group. The stock has been on a roll ever since.
Schultz's stock sales dwarf his compensation for the last two years.
Revenues at Valassis (VCI), the supermarket coupon giant, may have tumbled nearly 4 percent in the last quarter, but CEO Al Schultz is cashing in: He just exercized or sold about $7.4 million in stock and options. Some of those options were priced as low as $1.32. Schultz cashed out tens of thousands of equities at around $16 and $17 a share.Many of the sales were automatic, meaning that they were probably a scheduled part of his compensation. Valassis' stock spent much of the year in the gutter. NASDAQ threatened to de-list the company in February. Valassis also laid off at least 160 staff in a cost-cutting drive.
In April, VCI rose along with the general market (see chart below).
Then, in July, the company won a $300 million verdict in Michigan state court that in theory will break up the monopoly on supermarket advertising controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News America Marketing Group. The stock has been on a roll ever since.
Schultz's stock sales dwarf his compensation for the last two years.
- Related:
- Sock Puppet War: News America Wants Names of Valassis Execs Who Posted Anonymously on Coupon Site
- Valassis Again Touts Its Weakest Revenue Drivers as the Future of the Company
- Insignia Wins Ruling v. News America; Stage Set for Another Antitrust Trial in POP Biz
- Valassis Gives NCH Boss Husselbee a New Car and Free Gas Through 2010
- Insignia Uses Valassis Trial to Bludgeon News America in Minn. Federal Case
- Valassis v. NAM Federal Trial Set for February; Judge Denies Pretrial Motions
- News America Talks Tough on Valassis Appeal But Borrows $1B, Just in Case
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