The Montreal company Nuvei, of which the Caisse de dépôt is a major shareholder, has just broken a record by granting compensation of $140.8 million to its founder and CEO, Philip Fayer.
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For the past year, the executive received $58.3 million in stock, $63.9 million and $80.1 million in options as well as a base salary of $818,750 and a performance bonus of 1. $6 million.
“Such a sum, it still makes you think because you can wonder where you’re going to stop,” reacted Ivan Ivan Tchotourian, professor at Laval University and specialist in governance.
In 2020, Mr. Fayer’s compensation amounted to $4.4 million.
To justify such emoluments, Nuvei spoke of the importance of “retaining” its leaders so that the company experiences “sustainable long-term growth”.
For the options granted to Philip Fayer to be exercised, Nuvei’s share price will have to appreciate significantly over the next few years, the company added.
On Thursday, Nuvei stock closed at $77.75 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has lost 12% over the past 52 weeks.
The Caisse will have “questions”
Invited to react, the Caisse preferred to abstain, in order to take the time to analyze the situation.
“We will have questions for the company,” assured a spokesperson for the institution, Maxime Chagnon.
The Caisse holds nearly 12.5% of the shares of Nuvei.
Philip Fayer’s compensation is the most generous ever awarded to a Quebec business executive.
In 2015, the American Michael Pearson, CEO of Bausch Health, a company officially domiciled in Laval which was previously called Valeant Pharmaceuticals, was entitled to compensation of US$143.1 million.
Note that last year, Mr. Fayer sold $466 million worth of Nuvei shares while the Caisse sold $261 million.
The entrepreneur currently owns 20% of the company’s shares, a stake worth nearly $2.2 billion.