TheStreet.com Founder to Get Paid in Options
TheStreet.com Inc. founder and columnist James Cramer, never known to shy away from publicity, pulled out all the PR stops Thursday in a bid to breathe life into his company’s ailing stock.
The financial news Web site said Cramer will give up his $275,000 salary next year and instead take options for 30,000 shares in hopes the stock will recover.
Cramer’s options give him the right to buy TheStreet.com shares at $19 each. His options will vest in one year.
The stock got a lift, rising $2.31 to close at $19.81 on Nasdaq, but it remains down 72% from its peak of $71.25 after the initial offering at $19 on May 11.
Cramer made the change in his employment agreement as a vote of confidence in the New York-based company’s future, TheStreet.com said.
“I can’t stress how humbling it has been to watch the stock you’ve invested in plummet and feel there’s more in the company than Wall Street believes,” Cramer said in an interview.
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Street.com’s Straits
Shares of financial Web site TheStreet.com have tumbled from their May peak. Weekly closes and latest:
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Wednesday: $19.81, up $2.31
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Source: Bloomberg News
