More Business News:
Multimedia Games Explores Sale of the Austin Company After Resignation by CEO Sanfilippo - cbl
By citybizlist Staff
AUSTIN -- Multimedia Games Inc. (Nasdaq: MGAM) has begun examining strategic alternatives including a possible sale of the company, days after CEO Anthony Sanfilippo quit to head rival Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: PNK), according to an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Multimedia Games said Sanfilippo's resignation became effective Sunday but that he would continue to hold his board seat on the Austin-based supplier of gaming technology.
Simultaneously, the Multimedia Games board formed a special committee of independent directors -- consisting of Stephen Greathouse, Neil Jenkins and Justin Orlando -- to consider strategic alternatives. It also hired Deutsche Bank Securities as a financial adviser.
The company also named COO Patrick Ramsey, 36, as interim CEO besides announcing a new retention bonus plan totaling $2.55 million for six of its senior management team including Ramsey. Ramsey's base annual pay was raised to $375,000.
Multimedia Games also created a new position of vice chairman, naming Greathouse to the post until a new chairman is appointed. Michael Maples Sr. is still listed on the company's Web site as chairman.
Form 8-K filing: http://tinyurl.com/yhjfx5q
Also at citybizlist, see:
Multimedia Games Issues Earnings Warning After 3 Ala. Bingo Units Shut Voluntarily - cbl
Multimedia Games Appoints Timothy Stanley to Board
Management bios from Multimedia Games' Web site:
Anthony Sanfilippo
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Sanfilippo joined Multimedia Games as President and CEO in June 2008. Mr. Sanfilippo brings to Multimedia Games more than 25 years of gaming industry experience. Prior to joining Multimedia Games, Mr. Sanfilippo was employed with Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (Harrah's), the world's largest casino company and a provider of branded casino entertainment. While at Harrah's, he served as President of both the Central and Western Divisions, overseeing the operations of more than two dozen casino and casino-hotel destinations.
Mr. Sanfilippo was also part of the senior management team that led the successful integration of numerous gaming companies acquired by Harrah's, including Jack Binion's Horseshoe Casinos, the Grand Casino & Hotel brand, Players International, and Louisiana Downs Racetrack.
In addition to his duties as divisional president, Mr. Sanfilippo was also President and Chief Operating Officer for Harrah's New Orleans and a member of the Board of Directors of Jazz Casino Corporation prior to Harrah's acquiring full ownership. He has directed tribal gaming operations in Arizona, California and Kansas, and has held gaming licenses in most states that offer legalized gambling.
Patrick Ramsey
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Ramsey joined Multimedia Games in September 2008, after serving for over six years in various executive and operational positions with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. Most recently, Ramsey served as Vice President and Executive Associate to the Vice Chairman at Harrah's corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, where he worked on domestic and international development, design and construction, and sports and entertainment. He has significant slot operation and product experience, having served as Vice President of Slots & Security at Caesars Atlantic City, where he was responsible for maximizing the performance of over 3,000 gaming devices, which generated more than $400 million in annual revenue. In addition to Caesars Atlantic City, he served in executive positions at Harrah's Joliet (Illinois) and Harrah's East Chicago (Indiana), as well as the company's Central Division office in Memphis. Prior to entering the gaming industry, he worked in various roles within the finance industry, and also taught English in South America. He holds a BA in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Michael J. Maples Sr.
Chairman of the Board and Director
Mr. Maples has been a director since August 2004, and was appointed Chairman of the Board in April 2006. Mr. Maples held various management positions at Microsoft Corporation from April 1988 to July 1995, including Executive Vice President of the Worldwide Products Group. As a member of the Office of the President at Microsoft, Mr. Maples reported directly to the Chairman and Chief Software Architect. Previously, he served as Director of Software Strategy for International Business Machines Corp. Mr. Maples also currently serves on the boards of Motive, Inc., a service management software company, Lexmark International, Inc., a laser and inkjet printer company, and Sonic Corp., an operator and franchisor of drive-in restaurants. He is currently a member of the Board of Visitors of the Engineering School at the University of Oklahoma and the College of Engineering Foundation Advisory Council at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Maples received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University.
Directors
Stephen J. Greathouse
Director
Stephen J. Greathouse has been involved in the Las Vegas hotel and gaming industry for more than 30 years, and from 1997 to 2005, he served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the Mandalay Resort Group. Prior to his time at Mandalay, in 1997, Mr. Greathouse served as President of Boardwalk Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, and from 1994 to 1997, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Alliance Gaming Corporation, (renamed "Bally Technologies, Inc." in 2006). Mr. Greathouse spent 16 years with Harrah's, starting as a Race & Sports Book Manager in Reno and working his way up to President, Casino-Hotel Division. Mr. Greathouse is a Commissioner for the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission (SAGE Commission), a privately funded, bi-partisan panel created to review state government operations that fall under the Executive Branch and to provide the Governor of Nevada with recommendations for streamlining operations, improving customer service, and maximizing the use of taxpayer do
Neil E. Jenkins
Director
Mr. Jenkins has been a director since October 2006. Since 2000, he has been an Executive Vice President and Secretary and the General Counsel for Lawson Products, Inc., a publicly traded industrial products company. From 1996-1999, he owned an SCH Golf Franchise that specialized in tours to Scotland and Ireland. Beginning in 1974, Mr. Jenkins began working in labor relations for Bally Manufacturing Corporation, and continued in the legal department, rising to the position of General Counsel, a capacity he served in from 1985-1992. In 1993, he became a member of Bally Gaming International's Executive Team, where he helped coordinate business development, legal, and licensing matters for Bally Manufacturing's gaming industry spin-off. Mr. Jenkins received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brown University, a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and a Master of Science degree in Financial Markets from the Center for Law & Financial Markets at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Justin A. Orlando
Director
Justin A. Orlando is a managing director of Dolphin Limited Partnerships, a private investment management firm focused on investing in undervalued public companies across a diverse set of industries. Previously, from 1999 to 2002, Mr. Orlando was a member of the healthcare investment banking group of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated where he was involved in advisory work, financings, and control transactions. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Orlando practiced corporate law with the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions. Mr. Orlando received a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor degree from the Columbia University School of Law.
Posted Mar 15, 2010
