Address: 225 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 60601; 312-565-7500
Web site: www.midasinc.com
Founded: 1956
Employees: 1,500; 570 in Illinois
Year-end: Dec. 31
Foreign sales: 31 percent of $519.1 million
Chief executive: Wendel H. Province, 51, since 1998
Cash compensation: $1,590,624; N.A. for 1997
Options granted: $3,510,400; N.A. for 1997
Options, stock appreciation rights exercised: None
Shares owned: 201,263 of 17.2 million
Largest shareholder: Southeastern Asset Management Inc., 14.8 percent
Stock: 365-day close as of April 15
High: $35.62
Low: $18.06
April 15: $33.69
April 15, 1999, value of $1,000 in company stock:
Purchased 1998: $1,816
Purchased 1994: N.A.
The biggest news for Midas last year was its rebirth after 26 years as a unit of Whitman Corp. and its predecessor, IC Industries. Despite its recognizable name, the auto-services franchise company is just starting to make it on its own.
Midas went through a major retrenchment last year, which included franchising the company-owned shops and cutting staff. Cash generated was used to reduce debt.
This year, the public will see a “total image makeover” of the 2,100 Midas shops in the U.S. and Canada. The $30 million program includes a new logo and refurbishing of individual stores. Next the company will evaluate its international strategy.
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A guide to the Top 100 profiles
The Tribune’s business staff profiles the Chicago area’s Top 100 public companies, based on market capitalization as of April 15. Here’s a primer on the information you’ll find:
– The CEO’s cash compensation, including bonus and other compensation paid in 1998, along with the change from the prior year.
– The figure for the CEO’s stock holdings includes shares the CEO had the right to acquire within 60 days of the proxy statement’s issuance.
– The company’s largest shareholder.
– Estimated current values of stock options granted the CEO, and the change from the prior year, as well as options and stock appreciation rights exercised during the year. In most cases, the value of options granted is based on an assumption of a 5 percent annual rate of stock price growth, or is determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.
– Theoretical total-return investment results for shares purchased for $1,000 a year ago and five years ago. The date on which these calculations are based is April 15. The results assume reinvestment of dividends on a quarterly basis.
– The information in the profiles was obtained from the following sources:
Company reports, including annual reports, public stock offering prospectuses and proxy statements.
Interviews with company officials.
Reports by securities analysts.
News reports.
Bridge News.
