Black & Decker is going out in a blaze of embarrassment. First the move of Friday's shareholder meeting to an out-of-town venue to avoid Baltimore complaints about the sale to Stanely Works. Now this.
As I noted in a post yesterday, Black & Decker's description of the New York Stock Exchange's criteria for determining who is an "independent" director was quite misleading. The matter is relevant because the company certified Anthony Burns as independent -- a distinterested party qualified to evaluate without bias Black & Decker's sale to Stanley Works and huge pay for CEO Nolan Archibald. In fact, Burns is Archibald's business partner in a luxury residential development in Utah.
Now the New York Stock Exchange says it agrees with me. It rebuked Black & Decker's description of its rules. Black & Decker was forced to put out another, humiliating press release late last night saying so. Disgraceful. Of course business deals between an overpaid CEO and the yes-men approving his pay are relevant! From the company's press release:
UPDATE: Check out Joann Lublin's story in today's Wall Street Journal, in which indepedent compensation consultant Mark Reilly estimates Archibald could make up to $89 million in the three years after Stanley buys Black & Decker. From the story: