DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) spent $700K on non-public air journey final 12 months for cofounder and CEO Jason Robins.
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins. The corporate spent $700K on non-public air journey for him final 12 months. (Picture: Getty Photos)
That element was revealed within the firm’s annual report, which was revealed Thursday at the side of the operator’s fourth-quarter earnings launch. Within the submitting with the Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC), DraftKings famous that beginning in 2022, it chartered, “with out markup,” a personal jet owned by the chief govt officer “for the enterprise and private journey of Mr. Robins and his household.”
The Firm had no direct or oblique curiosity in such non-public aircraft. Throughout 2023 and 2022, the Firm incurred no bills and $0.7 million of expense, respectively, to be used of the plane below these chartering companies,” based on the regulatory doc.
On March 30, 2022, DraftKings entered right into a lease contract with an entity managed by Robins below which the aircraft was leased to the gaming firm for $600K for one 12 months. Pursuant to its phrases, that lease expired and a brand new association for a similar quantity was drawn up.
DraftKings Board Signed Off
The audit and compensation committees of DraftKings’ board of administrators accredited the air journey and aircraft lease association, citing the general safety program the corporate supplies to Robins and his household. These committees consider the non-public jet journey “is extra environment friendly and versatile and higher ensures security, confidentiality, and privateness.”
The non-public jet prices incurred by DraftKings final 12 months are effectively under what the operator handled in 2022. Two years in the past, the web sportsbook operator spent almost $969K on safety for Robins and his household, in addition to $131,607 in reimbursements for “the acquisition of sport day tickets, particular occasions, journey and lodging for Mr. Robins’ relations through the week’s actions” incurred on the 2022 Tremendous Bowl.
DraftKings’ 2023 annual report doesn’t element whole safety expenditures for Robins and his household, nor does it point out Tremendous Bowl-related bills. However the chief govt officer was in Las Vegas final week, based on his X feed.
It ought to be famous that DraftKings’ company jet bills are pretty tame when measured in opposition to members of the S&P 500. When it comes to gaming trade spending on non-public planes, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) was the chief in 2022 at $3.2 million, trailing solely Fb father or mother Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META).
DraftKings’ Compensation Committee
The DraftKings compensation committee is led by enterprise capitalist Ryan Moore, with Jocelyn Moore and Steven Moore being the opposite members. That committee’s constitution confirms the group’s duties embrace making and approving choices grants and different issuance of DraftKings fairness to Robins and different high-ranking executives.
A few of these executives, together with Robins, are frequent sellers of DraftKings inventory, although all that promoting hasn’t prevented the shares from hovering 26.13% 12 months thus far, and 167.83% over the previous 12 months.
There’s not a lot outsiders can do about insider promoting or how DraftKings executives are compensated. Within the SEC submitting, the corporate explicitly notes Robins controls all the operator’s Class B inventory, shares of that are value 10 votes. The Class A shares obtainable to the investing public comprise only one vote apiece.
“Mr. Robins could have pursuits that differ from yours and will vote in a method with which you disagree, and which can be adversarial to your pursuits. This concentrated management could have the impact of delaying, stopping, or deterring a change answerable for DraftKings, may deprive our stockholders of a possibility to obtain a premium for his or her capital inventory as a part of a sale of DraftKings, and may finally have an effect on the market value of shares of our Class A typical inventory,” based on the annual report.
