Party Gaming's Chairman In Breach Of Corporate Governance?
Published: Friday, June 24, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
PARTY GAMING'S CHAIRMAN IN BREACH OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE?
£3 million bonanza from coming IPO
Party Gaming chairman Michael Jackson, who could make £3 million from
the companies market listing on June 27 demanded a three-year contract before
signing up as chairman.
Jackson is reported to have told PartyGaming's bankers Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
it was the minimum tenure he would accept for taking on the role.
His contract breaches corporate governance guidelines stating that a non-executive
chairman of a FTSE 100 company must not have a contract that is longer than
12 months.
News of Jackson's determination to extend his contract comes just a week after
shareholders at Sage, the IT firm where he is also chairman, expressed concern
over his new role.
Documents recently released confirm Jackson's £500,000 a year salary for
his PartyGaming role in addition to a £1.5m bonus on flotation, scheduled
for June 27. The firm is hoping to place its shares at between 111p-127p.
But in unofficial market trading this week the shares slipped to a 110p-118p
range after news from the USA that "...there is a significant risk that
criminal or civil judgments may be sought against the group of (Party Gaming)
directors" in the US.
