Angry Birds Maker's Chairman Faces 20% Pay Cut Amid Stock Slump

(Bloomberg) -- The chairman of the company behind the Angry Birds game faces a 20 percent pay cut to reflect the loss of market value.

The board of Rovio Entertainment Oyj is proposing to reduce pay for both the chairman and vice chairman, according to a statement on Tuesday. The current chairman is Mika Ihamuotila.

According to the new proposal made at a shareholder meeting, the chairman’s pay would be cut to 9,500 euros ($11,800) a month from 12,000 euros, and the vice chairman’s to 7,500 euros from 10,000 euros. Other board members would still be paid 5,000 euros a month each.

The board had previously proposed keeping the fees unchanged for the two top jobs, but reviewed that decision following criticism in local media, which also noted the Rovio chairman was paid more than his counterparts at much larger companies such as Wartsila Oyj, Metso Oyj and Konecranes Oyj.

Rovio has lost almost 60 percent of its market value since its September initial public offering, disappointing investors repeatedly with higher marketing costs and deteriorating prospects. It’s now valued at just 382 million euros, compared with more than 900 million euros at the IPO.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net.

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