Midway Games Inc. said Thursday that David Zucker has stepped down as president and chief executive of the struggling entertainment-software company, to be succeeded on an interim basis by Senior Vice President Matthew Booty.
The Chicago-based firm, best known for its “Mortal Kombat” video game, didn’t offer any explanation for Zucker’s departure, saying he was “leaving the company.” Late in the day, the company said it would have no further comment. With his exit, Midway has now replaced its CEO, its chairman and its chief financial officer in less than three months.
“Dynamic new leadership is needed to bring Midway to its full potential,” Chairwoman Shari Redstone said in a statement. She is the daughter of Sumner Redstone, who is chairman and CEO of Midway’s controlling stockholder, National Amusements Inc.
Her father had Shari, who is president of his National Amusements investing vehicle, installed as Midway’s chairman in late December.
As it struggles with an aging product line, technical difficulties with new-game development and the absence of a megahit, Midway has encountered tough times: The company’s last annual profit was in 1999, and in the years since it has recorded a breathtaking $559 million in losses.
Zucker, 45, had been serving as president of Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc. before joining Midway in the top job in May 2003. Earlier this month, he acknowledged in a conference call with analysts that 2007 had been “a challenging year” for the company because of delays in shipping new titles and other problems.
Midway shares have been under pressure during the past several months because its third-quarter and year-end results disappointed investors. The company’s stock, which was trading above $6 as recently as August, has since lost about two-thirds of its value. In New York Stock Exchange trading Thursday, Midway shares closed down 15 cents, to $2.01, a price that gives the company a market value of $185 million.
“I look forward to helping Midway’s board choose an outstanding new CEO,” Sumner Redstone said Thursday. The company, added Redstone, who’s also the chairman of TV network CBS Corp., already has “some highly qualified candidates in mind.”
Although a small number of Midway shares continue to trade publicly, Redstone controls about 87 percent of the company’s outstanding shares.
Booty, 41, has been with Midway since 1991, and his most recent title was senior vice president, worldwide studios.
Thursday’s management change marks the latest development in an executive-suite shake-up at the company.
Only weeks after Shari Redstone replaced Kenneth Cron as chairman, Midway disclosed the departure of Chief Financial Officer Thomas Powell, who it said had left to take a job elsewhere. He was succeeded on an interim basis by Controller Ryan O’Desky.
Earlier this week, the company announced that it had revised the unaudited year-end and fourth-quarter results it released March 6.
“After further review,” the company said in a regulatory filing Monday, Midway officials have decided that the full-year loss was $1.09 a diluted share, 2 cents worse than the $1.07 loss the company had reported.
The reason for the downward revision, the filing said, was a different treatment of certain royalty expenses for the fourth quarter.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday, Midway said tersely that Zucker “ceased to be the president and CEO” effective March 19 but will remain an employee of the company until April 19.
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jpmiller@tribune.com
