Adam Metz, who resigned as CEO after Chicago-based General Growth emerged from Chapter 11 in November, received $46.2 million through an incentive plan set up during bankruptcy, with his salary, stock grants and severance package rounding out the pay package, according to a proxy filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Former President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Nolan Jr. was the second-highest paid General Growth executive last year, receiving $40.0 million, followed by Joel Bayer, senior vice-president and chief investment officer, at $11.6 million.
In all, the company paid its top eight executives $140.7 million last year, according to the proxy. The bulk of the compensation came through an incentive plan set up to encourage the company's top managers to maximize the recovery for creditors and shareholders.
General Growth bondholders got paid back and equity holders also received shares in the bankruptcy, an unusual outcome for a company that files for Chapter 11. In most cases, shareholders get wiped out and debt holders get only fraction of their investment.
“At the end of the day, it was a good outcome and management got paid because of that,” says Mr. Metz, 49.
When the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in April 2009, its bonds were trading for about 19 cents on the dollar, he says.
“It is a large amount of money,” Mr. Metz says of his compensation, but investors who bought at that price “did extraordinarily well.”
Messrs. Metz and Nolan were named to their posts in October 2008, after chairman and CEO John Bucksbaum stepped down as the company's top executive. General Growth's stock had been plummeting over concerns the company would be unable to refinance more than $4.3 billion in maturing debt amid the credit crisis.
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