Former THQ CEO Sells His Company Stock for $3000

[Timothy Chang]

Former THQ CEO Sells His Company Stock for $3000

Brian Farrell cashes in more than 50,000 shares for a very modest return.

Right before a company collapses, it's not uncommon to read of executives cashing out their stock in advance, raking in millions of dollars just before the share price tanks. That's not the case with former THQ CEO Brian Farrell: last week, he earned himself a comparatively meager $3,000 when selling his total holdings in the company.

A filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission was posted on THQ's investor relations website, which shows that Farrell sold off 50,481 THQ shares at the rock-bottom price of $0.058 per share. That works out to be just shy of $2,928 for Farrell's 21 years at the company.

THQ reported its highest annual sales figures and net profits ever in 2007, where its share price reached highs of up to $34.10 per share.

Unfortunately, the company couldn't maintain their success: products such as the uDraw GameTablet and lackluster releases such as Homefront took their toll on the company's finances, and studios closed one after the other. After attempting a the stock finally crashed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118671-THQ-Dodges-Delisting] in November 2012 by more than 47% after a poorly received earnings call and a lack of guidance by the THQ business on how to rejuvenate sales and keep the company afloat.

After defaulting on loans and throwing in a last ditch effort with Humble Bundle, the company finally commented [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121188-THQ-Files-For-Chapter-11-Bankruptcy]: "Although we (THQ) will no longer be able to work together with a unified mission, I am confident that the talent we have assembled will continue to make an impression on the video game industry".



Source: We Got This Covered [http://investor.thq.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96376&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2FwaS50ZW5rd2l6YXJkLmNvbS9maWxpbmcueG1sP2lwYWdlPTg3MDkzMTkmRFNFUT0wJlNFUT0wJlNRREVTQz1TRUNUSU9OX0VOVElSRSZzdWJzaWQ9NTc%3d]

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[Zhukov]

Y'know, I never had any particularly reason to like THQ, but they were relatively inoffensive as publishers go and it's still a bit sad to see them plummet like this.

 

[MortisLegio]

That's really sad that this happened. Work for 21 years, and that work is almost for naught.

 

[SweetWarmIce]

Always makes me a bit sad to read about the situation. THQ was my favourite publisher.

 

[Erttheking]

I think I played one THQ game, and it was just ok. But this...this is just depressing.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I hope this experience does make him a bitter person.

You are a cruel, cruel person.

Or that was a typo. Possibly.

 

[Alandoril]

"a lack of guidance by the THQ business on how to rejuvenate sales and keep the company afloat."

They needed to be told that all they had to do was to carry on making/publishing good games?

I would have thought that was self-evident.

 

[Worgen]

"a lack of guidance by the THQ business on how to rejuvenate sales and keep the company afloat."

They needed to be told that all they had to do was to carry on making/publishing good games?

I would have thought that was self-evident.

Your right, they should have tried harder to make gun shooter 12, instead of awesome games like Darksiders, Saints Row and every game Relic made.

 

[Carnagath]

"a lack of guidance by the THQ business on how to rejuvenate sales and keep the company afloat."

They needed to be told that all they had to do was to carry on making/publishing good games?

I would have thought that was self-evident.

Your right, they should have tried harder to make gun shooter 12, instead of awesome games like Darksiders, Saints Row and every game Relic made.

Opinions, opinions. I thought Darksiders 2 was painfully "meh", SR3 was a clown of a game with not much else to it (SR2 combined a great story WITH all those silly gameplay elements and was overall a much better game), Homefront was a disaster, and Relic has only ever made 2 great games, Homeworld and Dawn of War 1 up to Dark Crusade, while both CoH and DoW 2 feel clunky, have terrible netcodes, and DoW 2 especially is not even an RTS.

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

Man that's depressing. That's really the only thing I can say.

 

[lancar]

Shame.

I liked THQ. To see them die and have their remains picked clean by the vultures wasn't pretty. And now you tell me the CEO didn't do the rats-from-a-sinking-ship move either?

I really hope these people land on their feet and get back into the game again. They deserve better.

 

[Dirty Apple]

Seriously though, how is DoW2 NOT and RTS? It's real-time and it is a strategy.

I whole-heartedly approve your defence of DoW2, but I don't think it's an RTS either. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think it belongs in RTS' sexier, slimmer cousin's category, real timetactical. I loved DoW2's gameplay mechanics. I just wish they hadn't deviated from the plan as much as they did for Retribution. Ah well, I guess any conclusion to the story is better than nothing.

Keep fighting the good fight, Brother.

 

[MDSnowman]

....You know what would make a good game?

Make Dan Abnet's The Traitor General into a third person shooter.... I'm just saying.

Just saying Relic... I don't know who's signing your paychecks these days, but I'd play the crap out of that game.

As for THQ, I have to say its sad to see them go. The past few years they've released some really fun games in one form or another. If Saint's Row 2 and 3, Dawn of War 1 & 2 and Space Marine are any indication it was not for lack of DLC.

 

[Vrach]

Y'know, I never had any particularly reason to like THQ, but they were relatively inoffensive as publishers go and it's still a bit sad to see them plummet like this.

I'd agree if they didn't at one point go on record to say "we're on par with EA and ActiVision".

Still, they've made some nice games and I am overall quite sad to see them go.