Comcast update

I last wrote about Comcast on January 23. It's time for an update on that situation.

Last week Comcast, the cable operator, announced a revision in its compensation package for the company founder, Ralph Roberts. He was paid $1.85 million in 2007. His salary for 2008 will be a little bit less. $1,849,999 dollars less.

The company will also eliminate a benefit that was to have continued payments to Mr. Roberts' estate for five years after his death.

These moves are widely attributed to the influence of Chieftain Capital Management, which owns about 2% of the company's equity.

Executive compensation issues are, generally, eyewash. In a more substantive move, though, Comcast said that it will buy back $6.9 billion of its stock over two years and pay its first dividend in almost a decade, sending the shares up the most since 2002.

A Bloomberg reporter, Todd Shields, interviewed Glenn Greenberg (Chieftain's managing director) last week. Greenberg told Shields: "They certainly hit on all the important points, which we and others had been discussing with them. Now it's up to them to create value, which they have not done in the past 10 years."

Another issue that has arisen in the Comcast context recently is that of "core" versus "non-core" acquisitions as growth strategy. I'll have a few words to say on that theme tomorrow. Until then, enjoy President's Day.