Caesars Ent CEO’s 2016 compensation down 26pct

Apr 14, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World  

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The 2016 compensation package for Caesars Entertainment Corp chief executive Mark Frissora was 25.8 percent lower than his package for 2015.

The information was given in a Wednesday proxy filing by the U.S.-based casino operator to Nasdaq in New York.

In February Caesars Entertainment reported a full-year 2016 net loss of US$2.7 billion for its “Continuing CEC” unit.

Mr Frissora – a former head of rental car firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc – received US$9,510,932 in compensation from Caesars Entertainment in 2016, compared to US$12,812,830 in 2015.

While the CEO’s base salary rose 23.6 percent year-on-year in 2016, to US$1,976,923, he received no stock options. In 2015, such compensation amounted to just over US$5 million measured by grant date fair value.

Gary Loveman, a former CEO of the group and who is currently chairman, saw his 2016 base salary frozen at US$1.9 million. His total 2016 compensation package was down 21.6 percent year-on-year however, to US$5,972,699, compared to US$7,618,242 in 2015.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Co Inc (CEOC) – constituted as an operating unit of Caesars Entertainment – sought protection from bankruptcy via the U.S. courts in January 2015, weighed by a US$18-billion debt load. It was part of a plan to cut group debt by approximately US$10 billion.

In January this year, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Illinois approved the operating unit’s reorganisation plan, which Caesars Entertainment said would allow for a “successful conclusion to CEOC’s bankruptcy in 2017”.

Also in January, Steven Tight, the group’s president of international development, told GGRAsia that it was “pursuing a number of growth opportunities in Asia, including Japan”, and stepping up activity on its slated South Korea casino project.

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