Shaw CEO Gets $5 Million Raise in 2021 Versus Last Year

According to The Globe and Mail, Shaw Communications Inc. CEO Bradley Shaw’s total pay for the year shot up by millions of dollars amidst Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI)’s $16 billion CAD takeover of the cable, telecom, and wireless provider.

Mr. Shaw was paid $11.94 million by the company for the Fiscal Year 2021, which for Shaw Communications ended August 31 — up from $6.87 million last year.

Here’s a breakdown of Mr. Shaw’s compensation for this year:

• $3.3 million from a quirk in pension accounting
• $6.12 million in an annual bonus based on Shaw Communications’ performance for the fiscal year (was $5.27 million in fiscal 2020).
• $2.88 million in stock awards (was $1.92 million in fiscal 2020).
• $750,000 in additional compensation, in the form of stock awards, for taking over as CEO for his father, JR Shaw, who passed away in 2020.

Mr. Shaw’s pension compensation also grew by $518,210 this year. The Shaw Communications CEO actually has what may be the most lucrative executive pension in Canada, estimated to be worth $134.7 million as of August 31.

Rogers Communications plans to acquire Shaw, Canada’s fourth-largest wireless carrier, for $26 billion (including debt).

The merger threatens to decrease competition in the cable, telecom, and wireless spaces and could also lead to job cuts, although both companies insist it will actually increase competition and even help lower-income Canadians.

RCI has said it expects the deal to close sometime in the first half of 2022, but the two telcos will have to receive approval from the Competition Bureau, the CRTC, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada before that can happen.